


Wool Witch

by raven554



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Crochet, Evil, Fae & Fairies, Fantasy, Gen, Giants, Magic, Monsters, NaNoWriMo, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Witches, own writing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2020-12-31 17:37:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 33,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21149597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raven554/pseuds/raven554
Summary: After being plagued by the same nightmare for weeks, Lily's life is suddenly turned upside-down when the nightmare changes and she wakes up to find her parents are missing. The ten year old witch in training embarks on a journey in search of them with unusual companions: A enchanted crochet cat named Jacob that she'd made herself, and a strange human boy raised by the Fae. Can Lily keep her developing powers under control and find her family, or will the shadows that follow consume all she's ever known?





	1. Chapter one

The world was pitch black and she couldn't see anything at all, and yet she ran as fast she could, not caring what may lie ahead, be it a wall or a cliff. She just knew she had to get away. They were all around her and she couldn't let them get close; the creatures of shadow that followed like hunters tracking their prey. She didn't know how she got there or where 'there' even was. There was no wind and she felt neither hot nor cold; in fact she couldn't feel much at all, just the rise and fall of her chest and the quick beating of her heart.

Just as she felt as if all was lost and the monsters were almost on top of her she heard a knocking sound, like someone tapping on wood. The sound was coming from her left and she raced towards it. Any noise at all was better that the crushing silence and hope blossomed in her chest. The knocking grew louder and she heard a muffled voice, though she couldn't quite make out what it was saying. All of a sudden she lost her footing and fell, just as she felt something grab her ankle. The world was filled with a bright light and she jolted awake finding that she was in her bed at home with her mother standing by the window, curtains now pulled to the side, letting in the bright summer sun.

"Lily dear it's time to get up, you're coming with me to the shop today remember" her mother said as she picked up stray clothes Lily had thrown to the floor the night before. Lily groaned and fell back onto her bed pulling the heavy woollen blankets up over her head, her nightmare forgotten for now. With a sigh her mother moved to the wardrobe. "Lily please, I've no time for games this morning, we have a lot to do!" She pulled out some clothes and lay them down on the wooden dressing table. Again Lily groaned and curled up under the blankets, her long curls peeking through.

On a shelf on the far wall, a small crocheted cat which sat watching the exchange silently lifted its head and looked around. Its gaze stopped on the older woman and it watched as she then moved towards the bed, and the lump that lay in the middle of the mattress. She glanced briefly towards the yarn doll and grimaced; a small shiver going down her spine. She never liked that thing or the way it would gaze at everything with lifeless eyes. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the issue at hand. "This is your last chance, I'm not going to ask you again!" The lump wiggled and moaned in retaliation, but made no effort to emerge. "Fine then! I suppose I can always send a message to Grandma Kels and tell her not to visit tomorrow." With that Lily's mother made her way towards the door, a small smile on her lips.

Suddenly the blankets were thrown to the floor and the small girl leapt from the bed. She hurried to the dresser and grabbed the clothes her mother had picked out before running through the door and down the hall to the bathroom. With another shake of her head and smile still present, the woman left the bedroom and headed downstairs while the doll, having surveyed the whole exchange, climbed quietly down from the shelf and walked quietly to the bathroom door where it sat patiently.

A short while later Lily emerged from the bathroom, washed and dressed in a pale pink summer dress patterned with tiny white butterflies. Her hair had been brushed and the messy blonde curls tamed back with a black band. She picked up the small red cat and headed down the stairs with a skip in her step. She'd almost forgotten that her birthday was tomorrow. Every year her Grandmother would visit and bring a gift. Last year it had been the wool and pattern that she'd used to make Jacob; the crochet cat she currently held. The year before that she received a beautiful set of crochet hooks and a handmade pouch to keep them in. She loved her grandmother dearly but the only contact they had with her were the occasional magical messages, or the yearly visit for Lily's birthday, which made her feel incredibly special. She had asked her mother numerous times why her grandmother didn't visit more often, or why they never went to visit her instead? But she got the same answer every time: "That's just how she is". Lily didn't like that answer though because she knew that wasn't quite true. She'd heard that her dear Grandma Kels was once one of the most popular people in town. She had founded the store her parents now ran and was friendly with all of the locals. Yet for some reason, before Lily was born, that all changed. She gave the shop keys to her daughter Rowena and moved away, telling no-one where she was going.'Perhaps I'll ask her tomorrow when she visits' Lily thought to herself. 'Now that I'm a whole year older she may tell me.'

She reached the bottom of the stairs and opened the door to the kitchen. The smell that hit her made her stomach growl loudly. Freshly cooked bacon and eggs with a side of buttered toast was waiting for her on the table. Her father was stood in front of the stove, dressed for work with an old apron protecting his deep blue waistcoat and matching trousers. He was humming a tune to himself. As his fingers danced through the air, so too did the flames beneath the pan, spreading their heat to create an even and perfectly cooked breakfast. Once he was finished cooking the meal, the flames then jumped from the stove and onto the granite work top, dancing a grand finale as his song came to an end. With a click of his fingers, they were gone. Mr Allman turned and bowed, his mess of blonde curls bouncing forward and into his eyes, before straightening up and smiling brightly at Lily as she applauded and cheered.

"Thank you, thank you! I owe all my success to my adoring fans!" He said while gesturing to his audience of two. Lily continued to clap while her mother looked on in amusement. Eventually the excitement wore down and the family sat together to eat breakfast, talking about the plans for the day. Lily's mother mentioned again that, since her father had errands to run today, Lily would be taking his place in the shop with her. It would be a 'perfect opportunity to learn some proper magick.' As she said this, Lily's grip on Jacob tightened slightly and her father gave her a pitying glance before turning to his wife.

"Rowena..." He said quietly, a pleading look in eyes. "It's her birthday after all; shouldn't she be enjoying herself and doing whatever it is an eight year old does?"

"Her birthday's not until tomorrow Simon you know that" Rowena replied sharply. "She can play around and goof off then, but for now she needs to continue her magick studies and what better way than in the shop." She finished her meal and stood to wash her plate before leaving to get ready for the day, her stiff body language making it clear that the conversation was over. Once she had left he turned to Lily, who was now simply moving her food around the plate with her fork, a sour look on her face.

"Don't worry love; I'm sure it'll be fine. You'll get the hang of things eventually." He reached over the table to gently pat her hand, a sad smile on his lips, ran his fingers through the mess of curls that had fallen into his face and went back to his own meal.

After breakfast, Lily made her way towards the front door. Her black shoes were waiting for her on the rack besides her mother's own black, boring work shoes. She put them on, tightened the single strap across the top of her foot and then waited patiently to leave for the shop. Jacob had now decided to stretch himself across Lily's shoulders. It made Lily feel quite stylish and elegant, much like one of the noble women she'd seen once in the neighbouring town, who had a fox lying around her neck. She liked foxes; there were a few that visited their garden every now and then. At the time she had wanted to go and greet the woman and ask her about her fox; perhaps it was her familiar; but her mother had warned her against it. It was probably for the best as the poor creature looked very tired; it hadn't moved a muscle since the woman had come to her attention, and she wouldn't want to wake it from its much needed slumber. She absentmindedly lifted her hand to stroke Jacob behind the ears, the woollen feline leaning into her touch. He couldn't purr like a real cat, but she knew that if he could, he would. She looked up as she heard her mother's footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Oh no, I'm not having that thing in the shop. Take that..." she paused, noticing the upset look on her daughters face, and the button eyes which were now watching her, "take...Jacob...up to your room please. I won't have you distracted while you study".

"He won't be a distraction, I promise!" Lily begged "He'll be good! I'll put him on one of the shelves and he can watch me learn." Lily tried using her very best pleading look; her eyes growing wide, tears threatening to fall, and her bottom lip starting to wobble.

"Don't think those crocodile tears and puppy dog eyes will work with me, young lady. You know how I feel about these things. Now go put him back upstairs." Rowena stood her ground; arms crossed and clearly determined not to give in to her daughters little tricks.

"Fine!" Lily said reluctantly as she trudged up the stairs, head drooped and dramatic sighs falling from her mouth with every other step. She entered her room and walked over to the far shelf. "Sorry Jacob," she said, extending her arm so the feline could across, "We'll play when I get home. I'll tell you all about what I learn today." She paused, averting her gaze and with her shoulders sagging "If I learn anything today." Jacob nudged against her affectionately and she sighed deeply. "I don't know Jacob; no matter how hard I try I just can't seem to get it right. I made you without even trying, but I can't master a basic levitation spell, or make the easiest of potions without it blowing up in my face." Jacob nudged at her arm again and then made himself comfortable on the shelf. "Yes okay! I'm going!" Lily giggled "I'll see you later you lazy puss." And with that she left, closing the bedroom door behind her and headed down the stairs to her waiting mother.


	2. Chapter Two

The walk into the village wasn't a long one and Rowena kept a steady pace whilst Lily skipped behind her, occasionally distracted by the local wildlife or a particularly pretty flower. The sun was shining brightly and there was not a cloud to be seen, a gentle wind cooled the air; a perfect mid-summer day. As they approached the old and rather run down little store, Rowena spotted a gentleman standing outside and peering into one of the large windows at a potion bottle display. He certainly was a strange sight: Full length heavy jacket, with a large brimmed hat and scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. As they apporached, the stranger quickly pulled his scarf up around his face and left abruptly in the opposite direction, disappearing down the street and out of sight. Rowena watched him leave before shrugging and turning to open the store. Pulling the key from her pocket she proceeded to unlock the door and called to Lily to help her set up shop as the encounter was pushed to the back of her mind, soon to be forgotten.

The store didn't look like much from the outside but upon entering you were greeted with shelves upon shelves of potion bottles and books reaching high as the ceiling. At the back of the shop was a small stone lined room with a few large cauldrons, sat over small fire pits and safely sealed off from anything flammable.

"Fill the pots for me please, dear heart" Rowena said as she tied back her long black hair and donned an old apron over her long forest green dress, which was patched in various places and even sported a few scorch marks from her husband's occasional mishaps. As skilled as he was with his elemental magick, he was also easily distracted. This had led to the loss of quite a few books and parchments, and a strict rule to only summon flames in the designated area of the shop. While Lily went to fetch the water from a back room, Rowena pushed up her sleeves, revealing the delicate images adorning her skin. Thin vines and leaves wrapped around her arms from her shoulders to just beyond her elbows. With a deep breath, she moved her arms through the air, drawing intricate, invisible symbols with pointed fingers. The vines started to glow and shift, snaking their way down her arms before lifting from her skin. She manipulated the lifelike greenery growing from her arms as an extension of herself, fetching down various bottles and books from the high shelves and bringing them to a table in the middle of the room. Once she had what she needed the plants receded once more, shrinking down to lay close to the skin, dormant until she next needed them.

While her mother had been gathering supplies, Lily had filled the pots and then stood by to watch in awe. It didn't matter how many times she saw it in action, she loved to see the vines sweeping gracefully across the store to pick up the fragile bottles. Her mother used precise control and concentration to make sure that the grip was just right so as to not break or drop anything. The table was now covered in bottles and bundles of dried herbs.

"Now then" Rowena started "come over here and we'll begin by identifying the different ingredients". Lily walked over to the table, feeling more confident than she had before. This was something she could do. She loved helping out in their own little garden, asking about the different plants and learning about all of their magical properties and possible uses. "Let's start with something easy." Rowena picked up a mason jar and pulled out a handful of dried, pale brown roots. The moment the lid came off of the jar Lily covered her nose. The foul odour that filled her nostrils immediately gave her the answer.

"Yuck, valerian root! Lily answered with a grimace. Rowena chuckled and set some of the root into an iron mortar to be ground. The mortar and pestle were an anniversary gift from her husband. He had melted and cast the iron himself with his fire magick.

"And what is Valerian root used for?" she asked.

"Sleeping potions" Lily replied quickly, confident in her answer.

"And?" Rowena asked as she reached for another jar. Lily hesitated for a moment, bringing a finger up to tap her chin.

"Headaches?" She offered, not quite so sure of her answer this time.

"And other forms of pain relief, such as muscle or joint pains, yes. It can even help anxiety" Rowena explained. She opened the next jar and poured out something small and purple. They looked like little seeds.

"That's dried lavender" Lily said. "Used in sleeping potions and to create a feeling of calmness".

"Well done, but let's try something a bit harder shall we?" Rowena picked up a small vial containing a yellowish liquid and held it out for Lily to take. Pulling off the top, Lily lifted it to her nose. She was hit with a woody scent and a hint of spice and was immediately reminded of the surrounding woodland.

"Some type of tree sap?" Lily offered, unsure exactly of the contents of the glass vial in her hand.

"Very close, well done" her mother said, "It's Cedar oil gathered from the local trees." She took the vial back and placed it on the table beside the jar of lavender. "I'm sure you can guess the theme of this first potion for Mr Lee" she said with a giggle. Lily smiled and walked around the table to stand beside her mother.

"It's a sleeping potion. Is Mr Lee still having trouble? I thought that had passed?" She asked with concern.

"I'm afraid so." Rowena sighed "The anniversary of his son's disappearance is coming up and he's started to have nightmares again."

The young boy had disappeared before Lily was born, but she'd heard the stories. He had been playing on the outskirts of the wood while his father was buying bread. One moment he was there, the next he was gone. The village sent search parties but they found no trace. Most believed he was taken by the Fae which were rumoured to live in the heart of the wood. Others argued that he must have been carried off by a hungry fox or wolf. After that day, fences laced with protective charms were erected to ward off any other potential threats.

Over the course of the day Lily helped her mother prepare orders needing completing. She was quizzed on each one; what ingredients or spell would be needed and how each was prepared. At around three o'clock Rowena decided it time Lily made a few potions of her own. She set up all the ingredients and placed a thin, brightly wrapped parcel down on the table before beckoning Lily over.

"Now I know your birthday isn't until tomorrow but opening one present early won't hurt will it?" she said motioning to the small gift. Lily picked it up gently and unwrapped the paper with great care. Inside was a plain brown box that held a light wooden wand made of beech with the face of a cat engraved into the handle. Lily ran her hands over the engraving, admiring the great care and detail that had gone into it. She'd known her mother had put in an order with Miss Foster, the village woodworker, but she never imagined it was for a wand of her very own.

"Every young witch should have a focus of some kind and a wand is a great tool for that purpose." Rowena continued as she watched her daughter marvel over the piece of wood in her hands. Before now, she'd just used her mothers old wand when they practiced. "More experienced witches and warlocks may choose to use something else to channel their magic, like my tattoos for example. You may find something else when you're older, but to start with a wand is perfect. Now, look at the items on the table. What can you make with these?" Lily looked over the different herbs and plants and mentally went through each one's potential uses.

"Well...Anise is used against nightmares and in sleep potions but it's also be used in protective spells and potions. Cloves and Rose petals are usually used together in luck potions, but are good for protection too, and Bay leaves have many different uses including protection potions so...I'm making a potion of protection?"

"Very good. So like most potions, begin by grinding up all the ingredients except for the Bay." Rowena instructed Lily step by step as she had done for each potion they'd made that day. Once all ingredients were prepared and added to the bubbling cauldron she asked Lily to pick up her wand. "This is the most important part. Right now all we have is a pot of spiced, herby water. To make it magic, we must give it magic. Now raise your wand with your dominant hand." Lily picked up the piece of beech and held it in front of her, over the pot, in her right hand. "Now focus on the power deep inside. Feel the energy flow through your core and guide it up into your arms and down to your wand. Think of what it is you wish this potion to do. In this case we want it to protect those who drink it."

Lily closed her eyes and felt for the magic. She could feel it burning deep within and, taking a deep breath, she imagined a small yellow light in her chest slowly moving up to her shoulder and down her arm. As she saw it in her mind, she also felt the energy pulse and move, warmth filling her arm and moving down to her elbow. As it reached her wrist however, things started to change. The gentle warmth became burning heat, the small light growing larger and blindingly white. Lily eyes shot open gave a yelp as the light shot out from her hand and through her wand, knocking over the pot and spilling its contents all over the floor. She felt her mothers hands on her shoulders as she was pulled back away from the boiling liquid. She looked back to apologise and paused when she was the shock on her mothers face as she stared at overturned cauldron, and the now thick black liquid oozing from it.

"Thats..." Rowena stopped briefly swallow "Thats enough for today I think." Lily could feel the hands on her shoulders tremor slightly. Was she that angry with her? It wasn't the first time she'd messed up a potion but admittedly not this badly.

"I'm sorry! I tried really hard I swear! I don't know what happened, it was all going so well, but then it was just...too much" Lily explained "I'll clean it all up don't worry".

"NO!" Rowena shouted, causing Lily to jump to the side out of her grasp. Rowena closed her eyes for a second before looking back to Lily and tried again: "No, it's okay. I'll clean it up with magick. I'm not sure what you made and I don't want anyone to touch it. Just in case." She turned, taking a moment to glance around the shop and then out of the front window and frowned. "Strange, it looks like there may be a storm coming. Though Joseph was certain the weather would be clear all week. Why don't we pack up for the day and head home. I doubt any customers will come by this time of day. Go and put those books away please dear, I'll deal with this little mishap".

With the shop tidy and the black substance disposed of, Lily sat in front of the shop while the building was shut down for the night. Gazing up at sky now littered with black clouds, Lily started to feel uneasy. It seemed darker than it should be and though it was clear a storm was coming, there was no wind and it was too quiet. There was usually something going on in the village, day or night, whether it be muffled sounds from Ms Fosters Workshop, or the stray cats meowing and fighting for scraps from the local butcher. It was only early evening so shouldn't the inn be full of people drinking and laughing as it normally was? Something didn't feel right and she made a point to speak up about it.

"Don't be silly." Rowena dismissed. "It's darker because of the clouded sky, which happens during a storm. Storms are a natural part of nature, they happen all the time. We also closed up shop earlier than usual, who's to say it isn't always quiet this time of day. Besides, anyone in their right mind would stay home with a storm brewing."

As they made their way home, Lily's unease only grew stronger. The sky had darkened so much that it felt like it was already the middle of the night. Out of the corner of her eye she swore she kept seeing some kind of movement and she was reminded of the nightmare which had plagued her dreams over the last few weeks. She was sure there was some shadowy presence stalking them from the surrounding foliage, but Rowena didn't seem to notice anything and walked on with her usual air of confidence. She sidled up beside the older woman and took her hand. Not because she was scared of course, but because it was getting pretty dark after all and it wouldn't be good to get lost; thats what Lily tried to tell herself anyway. She squeezed her mothers hand and smiled when she received a gentle squeeze in return. As they walked on along the empty road Rowena began to hum an old tune she'd learned as a child. It was a gentle song her own mother would sing to her whenever she felt afraid.

Once their cottage was in view, the lights in the window cutting through the ever increasing dark, Lily rushed on ahead to knock on the door. After a minute or two the door opened and Simon Allman greeted them both, a loving smile on his face and a red cat perched on his shoulder. At the sight of Lily, Jacob jumped from her father's shoulder to her own, pressing his head and face against hers, thin whiskers tickling her ear. She giggled and pulled him down into her arms, hugged him tight and then rushed past her father into the cosy safety the living room. Rowena stepped in through the door and greeted her husband with a peck on the cheek before shutting the door and pulling him into the kitchen.

Settling into one of the large blue armchairs in front of the fireplace, Lily picked up her yarn and hook that she'd discarded the night before and continued her crochet project. It wasn't much; a simple scarf that she hoped, when finished, would be charmed to keep the wearer at the perfect temperature no matter the weather. She could faintly hear her parents whispers from the kitchen and was certain they were discussing the unfortunate incident from earlier. She focused on the crackling of the fire and sound of the yarn being pulled through each stitch as she worked. As a feeling of calm swept over her, the world outside began to change. The clouds shifted and eventually disappeared altogether, the summer sun again beaming down. Birds started to chirp and the wind chime hanging from a branch in the garden filled the air with sweet tinkling bells as a gentle breeze began to blow.

A few hours later, after their evening meal was consumed and the sun had finally set, Lily was beginning to feel drowsy and her eyes felt heavy. A shadow fell across her lap and she looked up to see her father leaning down to gently remove the yarn and unfinished scarf from grasp, and set it down in a wicker basket by the wall. He picked up the sleepy girl and carried her upstairs, careful not to jolt her too much, then helped her to undress and tuck her into bed. Just before she drifted off to sleep entirely she felt soft lips on her forehead and heard a quiet "sweet dreams".


	3. Chapter Three

She was back in the hellish world that she'd returned to night after night for almost three weeks now. Deep in the recesses of her mind she knew she was dreaming, that soon she would hear the knocks on her bedroom door and the voice of one of her parents calling her back to the real world. That didn't stop the overwhelming fear that erupted from within and the need to run as far and as fast as possible from the horrors that lurked unseen in this unknown land. Tonight felt different. They were too close. Usually when the nightmare started they were far away and she would run alone for what felt like hours before they started to catch up to her, but this time they were right there. She couldn't see them or hear them but she could feel them. They felt like anger and pain and hunger and they were right there! But there was someone else there too. Not a monster but a person, two people in fact. As she ran she felt them run either side of her and could hear their panicked breathing.

After just ten minutes or so the runner to her right disappeared and Lily had to fight back the urge to stop and go back, check if they were okay or if they'd be caught. Instead she kept running, pray to whatever deity may be listening that they wake her up soon. Not long after she heard the runner to her left give out a quiet sob. The cry was familiar, and a memory of her mother crying alone in her bedroom night her familiar had died popped into her head. The thought that the runner may be her mother frightened her even more and while distracted she tripped, hitting the ground hard. She tried to get up as quickly as possible sensing a large and powerful presence behind her but she froze in fear. Just as the beast was mere inches away she felt herself being pulled back and thrown out of reach of the monster's jaws. And as she stood she knew that she was on her own. Whoever it was running along side her was gone, consumed by the hunger; she had to keep going. She turned and ran as fast as she could, determined to survive as long as it took. She felt tears run down her face and then, as she ran, something soft wiped them away. She gasped as she awoke to Jacob in front of her, paws on her face and button eyes peering down into her own. She sat up quickly, throwing the blankets off the bed and noticed she was still sitting in darkness, her curtains drawn and bedroom door closed. She curled up, knees under her chin and cried, Jacob sitting beside her.

Once she'd cried all she could and her tears had dried, she began to feel thirsty. Her room was still dark and she assumed it must the middle of night since she hadn't been woken yet and couldn't hear any movement. Climbing out of bed she tiptoed out of her room, Jacob at her heels, down into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. As she opened the kitchen door she was greeted with a bright room, light shining down through an open window. Confused, she wandered into the living room to check the wall clock. The old clock read ten thirty five but that couldn't possibly be right. She was always woken by nine at the very latest, especially on her birthday. Grandma Kels usually arrived before noon and she needed to be washed and ready to greet her.

Her thirst forgotten, she ventured back upstairs to her parents room and knocked twice. When she got no response she knocked again. After a third time with no answer she opened the door and went inside. The room was empty; the bed had been made and curtains open. After searching the entire house and finding it empty, Lily decided that they must have gone shopping in preparation for Grandma Kels visit, and had let Lily sleep in, because it was her birthday after all. Happy with her hypothesis, she went back to the bathroom to wash and then headed back down to make some breakfast. She wasn't allowed to use the stove without supervision so she settled on a simple meal of bread and jam. With no adults to scold him, Jacob jumped up onto the dining table began rolling happily on his back, tail swishing back and forth in delight. Once breakfast was finished and the plate and knife had been washed and dried, the duo went back up to the bedroom to dress for Lily's special day. Opening her wardrobe, Lily pulled out a radiant yellow dress adorned with delicate lace sunflowers. It was a birthday gift from her father and she'd chosen it herself after seeing it hanging in a shop window when they'd last visited the nearby town of Riverton. He'd brought it for her with the condition that she save it to wear on her birthday and not a day before. Pulling on her clothes she went into her parents room and admired her reflection in her mothers full length mirror, twirling round and watching the fabric sway and flow and she moved.

Jacob sauntered in and stood beside her wearing his own special birthday collar. Lily made it one evening after finding a piece of scrap fabric. The collar was a shimmering black and Lily had attached a bow made of the same material on to the back and sewn a small, iridescent, star shaped button to the front. Jacob seemed to regard his own refection before pawing at the loose ends of the bow, turning is circles in an attempt to catch them. Lily watched in amusement and then picked up the silly thing and skipped back downstairs to put on the same black shoes she'd worn the day before. It was now almost noon and with no idea how long her parents had been gone or when they'd return, she decided to meet up with them and show of her pretty new dress to the locals as she went. Before she left she left a small note on the door, just in case her Grandmother arrived while they were still out.

Perhaps they'd had an urgent order come through Lily thought as she wandered down the cobbled path towards the potion shop, Jacob keeping pace beside her. The midday sun beamed down and the occasional bird chirped from the branches hanging overhead, catching Jacob's attention. A small Goldfinch flew down and landed off the path a ways in front of them and Jacob halted in his tracks. On noticing the tiny bird Lily also stopped and looked back at the feline who had pressed himself down to the ground, tail twitching furiously back and forth. She knew he couldn't really do any harm to the bird, having a soft and squishy body and no claws or teeth, so she stood still and watched. Jacob raised his back end and began to wiggle, front paws beneath his lowered head and looking ready to pounce. Lily found the whole display to be incredibly cute and endearing and covered her mouth with her hands to prevent her laughter from scaring off the oblivious Goldfinch, which was pecking at the ground in search for food. With a final flick of his tail Jacob was off, leaping towards his prey with great precision and a show of skill worthy of a noble hunter. Of course Jacob was not a great and noble beast hunting his prey but a child's toy made of soft red yarn. Instead of being intimidating and fearsome, he looked the complete opposite: cuddly and safe. The bird inevitably flew away uncaring and unharmed back into the branches, waiting for them to pass before it could continue looking for its lunch.

The two eventually reached her mothers apothecary but it was clear no-one had been in. The building was dark and the door still locked from last night, the sign in the window flipped to say 'Closed'.

"Maybe they went to buy food for tonight's dinner?" Lily pondered aloud. Jacob merely twitched an ear in response and continued walking down the path towards the next building. The apothecary's neighbour was a quaint little shop called 'Pins and Needles Tailoring' and was run by a lovely gentleman named Mr. Sherman. "Wait here Jacob, I won't be long. Mr. Sherman doesn't like animals in his workshop." When Lily opened the door, a small bell chimed and Mr. Sherman looked up from his work table, setting down the pair of trousers he'd been working on, and greeted them both with a warm smile.

"If it isn't the birthday girl herself!" Mr. Sherman stood and clapped his hands together. "Welcome my dear and congratulations! Another year older and into double digits too. What can I help you with today?"

"Thank you Mr. Sherman. Actually, I was wondering whether you'd seen my parents?" Lily asked.

"Not since the day before last I'm afraid. If either of them pop by I'll be sure to let them know you came in searching for them though".

"Yes please, I'm sorry to have disturbed your work Mr. Sherman. Thank you."

"No problem at all. A child as polite as you are is welcome any time". Mr. Sherman walked over to the payment counter, pulled out a paper bag and handed it to Lily. "A birthday gift. Don't go eating them all at once though!" He chuckled. Within the bag were a handful of small sweets and the scent of aniseed made her mouth water.

"Oh thank you so much!" She popped a couple of the candied balls into her mouth and, as she left the store, heard Mr. Sherman's delighted laughter.

Jacob was sitting patiently by the door as she'd asked and stood as she shut the door behind her. He looked up at her, tilting his head as though asking what he'd missed while he was outside.

"Dey havn been here sho lesh move on I guesh" She said with a mouth full of saliva and sweets. Lily walked on down the path and then took a right at a fork onto the main road through the village, arms swinging back and forth as she went; the paper bag clinking and clacking as its contents were jostled by the movement. Jacob just flicked his tail and followed, silent as always. Lily had heard that animals often liked aniseed and wondered if, had she made him a mouth, he'd try and eat one of her sweets if she gave him one. Sure he couldn't actually eat it, but it was the thought that counts.

Their next stop were two stores facing each other on opposite sides of the road. To the right was the woodworkers run by Miss Foster and to the left was the blacksmith run by the Hammerfist brothers. They tended to keep to themselves and had moved in to the old forge about six months ago. The previous blacksmith, old Mr. Macgowan, had died the year before. He'd always been stubborn and, after developing pneumonia, refused help from anyone and announced to all who tried that the best way to get over any illness was to push through it. So he kept on working, despite the poor weather that year, and was found dead in his forge, blacksmiths hammer still in hand. With no-one else trained to make the tools and weapons needed, the local folk had to travel to Riverton every so often and buy from one of the blacksmiths there. One day Miss Cotterill, the farmers daughter, went to town in need of a new scythe, and returned instead with the two large Halfmen. The eldest of the two was called Ato and stood at eight feet tall, his younger brother, Igir, only a few inches shorter. They had told all who asked that their father had been human baker and their mother was Lorkahn blacksmith who made incredible weapons and tools.

Lily knew about the Lorkahn from one of the many research books that littered their bookshelves at home: A race of giants that lived high in the cold mountains to the north and had long ram-like horns and skin as strong as steel. They were generally a peaceful race, despite their appearance, and were often employed as guards or builders in the northern cities because of their incredible strength. They didn't breed outside their own people often, mostly due to their size, and so Lorkahn Halfmen were a rare sight.

As they approached, Lily could see that the large door to the forge was open and a shirtless Igir was carrying out huge amounts of farming tools over both of his large shoulders to load onto a wheelbarrow that sat out front. His dark grey-brown skin was shimmering with sweat from the hot summer sun his black hair had become tangled around the golden horns that curled around past his pointed ears. Miss Foster could be seen watching him work though her open window as she sat carving.

"Good morning Igir" lily greeted. Igir placed the last of the tools into the wheelbarrow and turned to look down at the small girl.

"Good morning, and happy birthday. Have you enjoyed yourself so far? " He asked, his accent thick and r's rolling effortlessly as he spoke.

"Well, sort of..." Lily replied. "You haven't see my parents today have you?"

"No. Not since your mother picked up an order from Ellie two mornings ago". Igir walked over the forge door and picking up a discarded shirt from the floor pulled it over his head.

"I'm going to Silver Tree Farm now. If I see them I will send them home." With a nod of his head he picked up the handles of the heavy wheelbarrow and walked passed Lily towards the farm. When Lily turned back towards the woodworkers shop, Ellie Foster was practically falling out the window; stretching out to watch the huge man go.

"Now that is a hard-working man. Gods I love being across from that forge. He's right though Lils, your parents ain't been to either of us today or into the village at all. He's been out there working since sunrise and I've been by this window most the mornin'. If they'd passed through one of us would have seen 'em".

"They must have gone to Silver Tree then" Lily reasoned. "Picking up some eggs and vegetables for dinner tonight I expect."

"I'm sure they did hun. Happy Birthday by the way! Have you had a chance to open your presents yet?" Ellie asked.

"Only one" Lily replied "And it's beautiful! Thank you so much, the handle looks amazing!"

"I'm glad you like it. You ever need a new one you know where I am. Now off you go birthday girl, If you hurry you'll probably catch your folks on their way back. Don't want 'em going home to an empty house an' panickin' now do we?". Elle winked at Lily and sat back down in her chair by the window, picking up the lump of wood she'd been working with and continued to carve. Lily looked down to where Jacob had been and found that while she'd been talking, he'd become bored and wondered off down the road. She eventually found him lying in a patch of grass behind the forge.

I wonder if he can actually feel the grass and sun she thought and she walked over and picked him up. "Come on Jacob, we've got a new lead! Next stop: Silver Tree Farm!" She cheered. Now knowing they hadn't gone into town (unless they'd gone before sunrise, which wouldn't make any sense), Silver Tree Farm was the only other place they could have gone within the village. But they weren't there. Mr. Cotterill gave her the same answer she'd received all day. He and his daughter had been out tending the animals since sunrise and she and Igir were the only ones to visit so far. Back at home, Lily sat alone at the kitchen table, Jacob having wondered off to who knows where within the house.


	4. Chapter Four

The next morning she woke confused and uncomfortable, surrounded by broken glass and overturned pots and pans. Her joints ached from the hard floor and her arms and legs were covered in tiny scratches and marks, from where she'd moved in the night and caught herself on the shards. It was clea that she was still alone in the house. They wouldn't have left their unconscious daughter in the middle of what currently looked like a bomb site.

Lily stood, set Jacob on the table and looked around to fully take in the damage caused. The room was barely recognisable; some of the cupboards, previously fixed to the wall, lay broken on the floor. Numerous tins of food and grains of rice were scattered everywhere and throughtout the kitchen she could see a few small, black globs of something resembling the black ooze she created the other day. She started to clean up the mess, first picking up everything that was still intact or salvagable such as the pots and pans and various tins of food, then grabbed a broom to sweep up the glass and debris. She felt numb. Empty. Her movements were automatic and precise, as though she were a machine programmed to clean. Moving around the outer edges of the room sweeping everything to the centre ready to picked up with a dustpan.

If her father were there her would have created a small army of elementals and work along side them to clear the room. Her mother would have simply cast a spell to reverse the damage, making the room look as good as new. Lily knew the spell by heart, she'd seen it performed so many times over the years. She knew every word and movement, but trying to cast it herself would likely make things worse. So she did it all by hand, not worrying about the occasional nicks from a particularly sharp piece of glass, or the splinters from the broken cupboards. Their medicine cabinet was always stocked with healing balms and potions that could fix superficial wounds in an instant. Jacob tried to help, but kept getting bits of glass and wood stuck in his yarn, so Lily eventually told him to stay put out of the way and he sat watching from a dining chair that had been pushed against the wall. Once the kitchen had been cleaned to the best of her abilities (the black stuff wouldn't budge no matter how much she scrubbed) and the bags of rubbish tied and put out the front of the house, Lily began to pack a small bag; just a few things like a bottle of water and some snacks if she got hungry. She grabbed a small purse and filled it with enough coins from her parent's savings pot (not so secretly hidden under their bed) to pay the toll to cross the bridge into Riverton, to buy food and rent a bed for the night if needed. If they're not in the village, then they must be in town she reasoned.

There were two ways to get to the town of Riverton from Tarrin Village: The road or the forest. The road was usually the obvious choice if travelling by carriage; it was a fairly short and safe journey, the road wrapping around the edges of the forest. By foot, however, it would take far longer and for Lily, who was on the shorter side even for her age, the journey could take over half a day. It would be far quicker to cut through the forest and she could be in town in a couple of hours if she kept to the trail. The clock in the living room told her it was approaching nine thirty-five. If I leave now, I should make it to Riverton before noon she calculated. I'll ask around the main stores in the market, and if no-one has seen them I'll go to the guards. Happy with her plan she called for Jacob and put him in her bag before heading out and locking the door behind her. He struggled at first, not pleased with being shoved into a small space, but eventually settled down and, Lily assumed, fell asleep; as close to sleep that an animated yarn cat could get anyway. She came to a closed gate that lead to the trail and before she entered the woods, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath then pushed the gate open and walked through.

The further she walked, the thicker the trees became. All around her she could hear the sounds of different birds, calling for their mates and stating their territory. The bushes and plants around her would occasionally rustle as small creatures went on their way. Some would stop in their tracks and watch with piercing eyes as she passed through; a squirrel on a branch or a deer in the distance. Lily was sure these were no ordinary animals, but Fae in their creature form wondering who she was and why she was there.

While her mother had always warned her away from the elusive race of people that lived in the forest, that they were dangerous and shouldn't be trusted, her father had always been fascinated by them. He often told her that they were a gentle race who were only dangerous when threatened and that most didn't trust them because were so reclusive. They could change their shape at will, and many people had issues with that. Shape-shifting was an incredibly difficult spell to master, even for the most powerful of humans. You had to know the form you wished to take inside and out in every detail. To try without this knowledge would be fatal. Yet the Fae are born with this gift, able to shift forms effortlessly. He told her stories of animals he had seen while travelling and how he had known they were Fae by looking in their eyes and seeing the intelligence and curiosity within, or how they hadn't fit in with the surroundings at all. He claimed he had once come upon a gazelle with large elegant horns, a creature that was thought to live in the eastern plains, drinking from a stream in a small wood down south that was normally home to only squirrels and mice. He told her stories he'd heard of a great elephant that would travel the world with another animal by it's side. The description of the large beast is always the same: As large as a house with tusk like spears, it's body littered with scars. It's companion however was always different. One witness claimed it traveled alongside a large cat with fur as black and night. Another saw a large bird gliding alongside the elephant, it's feathers gleaming in the sun. One man swore he saw a Tortoise perched atop the elephants head as it walked along a riverbank outside his village.

Despite his fascination with the, Simon had only ever met an actual Fae once, or so he claimed. Before meeting Lily's mother Rowena, he was an apprentice under a great elemental sorcerer who had asked him to go to the river to collect herbs. He told Lily of how, while walking upstream, he heard a horrendous howl of pain coming from the other side of the river behind some bushes. Dropping his bag, he had dived into the cold water to swim to the other side and when he emerged he saw the second most beautiful creature he'd ever seen (The first being his dear wife, he assured). Before him was a slender young man that looked altogether not quite human. He had long braided hair and skin and seemed to shimmer in the afternoon sun. Dressed in leather and furs with painted markings on his face, arms and chest, he was lying prone of the ground caught in a hunters trap with sharp metal piercing his calf. The man did not see him at first and there was fear and pain on his face as he struggled with the contraption keeping him captive, but the moment he looked up and looked into the eyes of the human before him, his expression changed to one of anger and he let out a deafening roar, like that of a bear. Simon had fearlessly approached the wounded man and pried open the jaws around his leg before treating his wounds (Lily wasn't so sure that part was accurate since she'd seen him cry out in fear from the smallest of spiders that sometimes entered their home, begging his wife to remove them). They'd exchanged no words but before they went their seperate ways, the Fae man gave him a smooth white stone as a token of his thanks. The stone hung from her fathers neck, wrapped in a golden thread, and he rarely took it off.

Lily tried to think of her fathers stories instead of her mothers warning, but she grew increasingly nervous the deeper into the forest she went. Keeping to the trail was beginning to become more difficult with all the different sounds and sights to distract her. There were so many plants and flowers she had only seen in books and as much as she wanted to stop and look at each one, she knew that if she didn't get thought the forest and out to the neighboring town before sunset, she may never find her way out. She thought about taking Jacob out of her bag to give her a bit of comfort, but she didn't like the thought of him running off after a mouse or a rat. He may be made of yarn but he was still a cat. He liked to try and hunt the village mice whenever they went outside to play, though they had soon learnt he was no threat to them, not having claws or even a mouth with which to do any damage. She smiled to herself and let out a quiet laugh as she remembered when just last week she'd caught him pawing at a mouse while it sat there cleaning itself, ignoring him completely.

Suddenly something ran out of a bush behind her, screeching loudly and causing Lily to jump startled and run off the trail in a panic. She eventually came to a clearing with a large tree and squatted down beside it, taking deep breaths to calm down. She could feel Jacob squirming in her bag, worried and trying to find out what was happening. She opened it up and pulled him out, hugging him close to her chest and he rubbed up against her in an attempt to be comforting. The snap of a twig got their attention and she stood up suddenly to look for the source of the noise, Jacobs ears twitching back and forth. Slowly an animal emerged from the growth. It was short with a long body course brown fur with faint stripes along its back. It sauntered towards her confidently, its beady black eyes locked with hers. At first she thought it was a large stoat, but it lacked the usual markings and its snout was longer and less friendly looking than she was used to, filled with sharp menacing teeth. She was certan that this was no ordinary woodland creature. It started circling around her and she could have sworn she saw it smile, and then another identical creature appeared and started to join the first. As she watched them she started to hear whispers. Quiet laughter echoing around but she couldn't place where it was coming from. It sounded both far away and yet right in her ear.

"What have we here brother?" The voice whispered "A lost little human girl. What is she doing here I wonder?"

"I've no idea my dear sister. Doesn't she know tiny humans shouldn't wonder the woods alone?" another voice replied.

The beasts circled round again but this time as they disappeared behind her she felt a hand upon her shoulder. When she looked to her right a teenaged boy appeared at her side. He wore skin tight leathers and furs around his shoulders with long brown hair in a single braid to his waist. Around his neck we wore a multitude of pendants and gems, and on his wrists he had several bangles and bracelets all different sizes and colours. His ears were pierced with shining gems and on his head was a rather stunning, purple, pointed hat. She recognised it as belonging to a woman in her village. She had worn it every day when she visited the shop and then one day she had a different one. When Lily asked, the woman had said it had blown away into the woods one windy morning and she hadn't dared go after it.

The boy looked her up and down and smiled, showing the same sharp teeth she'd seen in his previous form. When he spoke she realised that his voice was one of those she could hear before. "What say we help out this poor child?" He asked. From her left side she felt another hand on her shoulder and she turned to see an almost identical teenaged girl. 'Twins' Lily thought to herself.


	5. Chapter Five

She hadn't heard of Fae twins before. She made a mental note to tell her father about it when she found him. The girl wore the same as her brother but instead of necklaces and bangles, she wore matching leather cuffs on each wrist, engraved with a swirling design that looked almost like flames.

"Dear brother, of course we should help her" the girl replied, gazing down into Lily's eyes, an identical smile adorning her face. "Why are you wandering around these woods little one?" she asked. "It's dangerous don't you know? There are all sorts of monsters roaming around just waiting to snatch up little girls like you". Lily swallowed and took a breath absentmindedly stroking Jacob to keep him calm and also herself.

"My parents are missing" she started cautiously. "I'm trying to find them. No-one in my village seems to know where they went so I thought I'd ask around in Riverton. If you could show me back to the trail I'd be ever so grateful". She looked between the two and the boy laughed.

"Oh just listen to that voice Sa-naer. Isn't she so polite and well spoken and so cute with that little toy tucked under her arms" he snickered again and looked away, making a show of wiping invisible tears from his eyes.

"Don't be mean De-naer" chastised his twin as she flicked his ear while failing to hide her grin behind a look of seriousness. She knelt down beside lily and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Of course we'll help darling. But there are rules here in the forest. So yes, we'll help you. For a price".

"But I don't have any money I can spare!" Lily explained "The only coins I have I'll need to get into Riverton and -". The boy interrupted with a dramatic sigh wave of his hand.

"Well I expected someone as well spoken and clearly educated as you to be smarter than to bring just a few coins, but if that really is the case..." The boy paused and tapped his chin. His eyes wondered downwards and stopped at her feet. He looked at his sister and they both shared a grin. "You may need your coins. But you surely don't need your shoes". The twins then stood side by side in front of her, arms crossed and waiting. Lily looked down at her feet. She liked these shoes, they were a gift from a woman in town as thanks for a pair of gloves she'd crocheted. They were right though weren't they? She'd rather give up her shoes that give up her coin. The brief thought of what they would even want with her shoes came up, since they clearly wouldn't fit them, and they werent even wear shoes themselves, but she shrugged it off and she knelt down to undo the small clasp on each one.

"Shouldn't you two be organizing the fruit harvest?" came a third voice from up above them. "Mahrek's not going to be pleased when she hears you snuck out again". The three of them all looked up to see a human boy looking down from one of the branches. The twins both grunted in frustration and rolled their eyes.

"Oh great, what are you doing here Old-scar?" the girl asked, clearly annoyed by the interruption. "Can't you see we're trying to help this poor little orphan girl"?

"I'm not an orphan" Lily said quietly.

"Yeah whatever sweetheart" the other twin said as he waved his had dismissively and directed his attention back to the boy in the tree. "Aren't you usually off being broody and mysterious by the river when you're not kissing the Elders arses on a daily basis". His voice was full of venom and the change in atmosphere put Lily on edge. She slowly began to back away, deciding it may actually be better find the trail herself than get into any deals with these Fae. She could hear them arguing as she made her way back into the thicket, the broken branches and shrubs indicating where she had burst into the clearing. Eventually the voices stopped and she took a moment to get her bearings as her stomach started to rumble, deciding now would be a good time to rest and have something to eat. She sat down and pulled out her bottled water, taking a deep drink of the refreshing liquid before pulling out some bread, a butter knife and a small travel-sized jar of blackberry jam they'd brought from a farmers market a few weeks back. She'd just finished applying the jam when the boy from the tree dropped down in front her with a thud.

The tall teen towered over Lily's seated form. He was dressed in similar leathers to the twins, minus the fur. His dark, messy hair was cut incredibly short on one side; the rest falling down to just cover one eye. On the surface he looked angry; hands clenched and shoulders hunched, but his eyes betrayed a hint of curiosity.

"Who are you and why are you here!?" the strange boy demanded. His sudden appearance had made Lily drop her meal, and she was having to hold Jacob back from sticking his face in it in an attempt to 'lick up' the jam. Yarn and jam did not mix well, and the last thing she needed was to deal with a mess.

"I..I'm Lily? I'm lost. I thought you'd heard all that from your hiding place?" she answered, the confusion clear as she spoke.

"You're lost, so you decide to sit down for a picnic? You sound like a liar to me."

"I'm not lying!" Lily snapped back "I was heading through the woods when those two scared me off the trail!" At Lily's outburst Jacob managed to free himself from his grip and took a defensive stance in front of her, guarding from the menace that had upset his creator. On seeing Jacob move entirely on his own the boy stepped back alarmed, eyes wide and locked onto the odd creature in front of him.

"What is that!?" he yelled, pointing at Jacob.

"That's my cat" Lily responded casually.

"That's not a cat!" The boy yelled "It's made of...string! And its Red! How is it moving?" As the boy yelled, Jacobs tail began to twitch and his ears flattened flat against his head. Both were sure that he would be growling if he could and Lily reached out to pet his head in an attempt to calm him down.

"He's made of yarn and I happen to like the red. It suits him. I made and enchanted him all by myself" Lily said proudly as she stroked Jacob gently, reassuring the animal that there was no immediate danger.

"Hold on." The boy seemed to freeze in place, his eyes closed and Lily imagined several little cogs turning in my mind as his face went through a multitude of different expressions, though confusion seemed to be the main theme. "You...enchanted him." he began slowly "So he's a kind of...Golem?" he asked as he cautiously leaned closer to inspect the feline now that it didn't look as defensive and ready to pounce at any moment.

"I guess so? I've never really thought of it like that before" Lily admitted. As she felt herself calm she saw Jacob also physically relax, allowing the stranger to examine him and pushing his head into the teens hand when he reached slowly to test the softness of the red material that formed his body. His hand jerked back slightly before reaching forward again and to stroke Jacobs head gently, eyes wide in awe. "We really are just lost" Lily continued, "If you would please show us back to the trail we'll be out of your hair".

"Okay" he said hesitantly "But we gotta head back to my home first. The elders need to know. Come on, follow me." He gestured behind him and turned to walk away, slow enough that Lily could gather her things and catch up to him.

"Oh um...that's fine I guess." she said as she picked up her bag and tucked the jam jar inside. "I heard the others call you 'Old Scar' earlier, is that your name?" she asked. The boy grimace and scoffed.

"It's Oscar. They were just being jerks cos I ruined their fun. They came up with that stupid name because I 'just won't leave even though no-one wants me there'" he explained.

"That's horrible! Why would they be so mean?" she asked visibly upset for the older boy. Oscar chuckled and patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry, they're not always like that. They're trouble-makers sure and like pranking people, but they can actually be pretty nice when they wanna be" He explained, a fond smile on his face. "They came up the 'Old Scar' thing when we were kids. They put worms in another boys bed and I ratted them out to Elder Kaern. They'll probably apologise in some way in a couple days."

"Well it's still a pretty mean thing to say. And they were going to take my shoes. Why did they want my shoes? It isn't like they would fit, my feet are far smaller than theirs" she noted looking down at her feet as they walked.

"They didn't want them to wear" he laughed "It's just this weird thing they both have. They like to try and scam shoes off of travellers. I don't know why they do it, they just find it funny. Sometimes Paluk asks me to go into town to sell them and buy trinkets or sweet treats for him and sister, Leena. I'm sure you noticed all the jewellery he was wearing? It's kinda hard not to" he said glancing down to the small girl as she walked quickly beside him, her shorter legs working harder to keep pace beside him.

"Oh yes, he looked quite spectacular" Lily replied.

"Yeah well, he likes to be the centre of attention and his way of doing so it to sparkle and shine brighter than the sun and stars in the sky." His hands waved dramatically as they walked side by side "He's more magpie than mongoose." He chuckled. Lily gasped and her expression brightened as though she was hit with a sudden revelation.

"So that's what they were! I'd never seen a mongoose before. I thought they were some kind of stoat. Or a really weird Otter" Lily said thinking back to the animal forms the twins had taken before revealing themselves. Oscar barked out a small laugh and quickly covered his mouth with one hand.

"Don't let either of them hear you say that, but yeah they aren't usually seen in this area. Wild mongoose are usually found way, way east from here. I heard everyone was pretty shocked when they first shifted, the others are all native forest dwellers" Oscar explained. They didn't talk again for a few minutes and Lily had a question that was burning away at her that she wasn't sure she should ask, but eventually decided that she desperately needed to know.

"So..." She began "You live with the Fae?"

"Yep" Oscar replied. When he didn't offer any more information she pressed on.

"Why?" she asked. Oscar was silent for a while, his body becoming tense and he looked away so that Lily couldn't see the hatred and contempt on his face as he spoke.

"The Humans didn't want me." he said spitefully. "I don't remember much, I was pretty young but I remember being alone and scared in the forest. I cried and called for my parents, but they didn't come. A deer came instead; Elder Kaern. He took me in. The Fae raised me as one of their own."

"I'm sorry" Lily began but Oscar quickly interrupted.

"Don't be. We're not far now so keep close." With that, they continued to walk in awkward silence. Soon, the surrounding forest began to thin and Lily noticed lanterns hanging from the lower branches with small glowing lights inside, each different colour.

Light spell perhaps? she thought to herself as they walk beneath them. From the bushes and trees she began to notice animals of all shapes and sizes watching them curiously, much as they had when she's first entered the forest. She gulped and stood closer to Oscar, the anxiety from before starting to creep up once more, but feeling safer by his side. Oscar merely rolled his eyes at the onlookers and continued confidently on.

A tall Fae woman approached them and they both stopped in their tracks. She wore light brown hide breeches and across her chest was a matching swatch of leather adorned with pale fur. Her skin was pale and decorated with dark swirls; her eyes a bright orange like a burning fire. On top her head, through her long wavy, hazel hair, grew a pair of small brown antlers; the tips stained with the same substance that marked her body.

"What is the meaning of this Oscar? You know our rules, yet here you are with a stranger. A Human stranger no less. You had better have a damned good explanation." As she spoke she waved a large spear in Lily's direction and the young girl flinched and stepped back to hide behind the teen.

"I need to speak to Elder Kaern. It's important. I wouldn't have brought her if it wasn't, you know that. When have I ever broken the rules." He replied; his expression was serious and his posture strong and intimidating.

"I can think of a few occasions" she scoffed, her mouth curled upwards faintly in amusement.

"The important rules then" he offered, his expression matching hers briefly before the serious look took over once again. "She has a red golem."

With that simple statement the woman's whole demeanour changed. Her eyes went wide and she looked somewhat shocked and concerned as she glanced at Lily and then down to Jacob in her arms. As Jacob turned his head to look her in the eye the woman gasped and stepped back.

"The Elders are by the tree. I'll escort you there" She said looking Oscar in the eye, nodding her head once then turning and walking quickly through a small hamlet that had been built into the forest. Homes were built round, and carved into large trees, leaves and branches weaved into intricately patterned rooftops. More lanterns lit the beautifully built homes and many of the Fae had stopped to watch the newcomer with interest, gossipping whispers heard from a few as they passed, though Lily couldn't make out what was being said. As they passed a food store Lily saw the twins from before organising various fruits and berries under the watchful eye of a large older woman. The male looked up as they passed, nudged his sister and then winked at Lily before returning to his duties. Leena merely rolled her eyes at her brother, offered Lily a smiling nod then returned to their job.

They were taken to a large oak tree, its enormous trunk engraved with intricate patterns; dim lights and glittering jewels hanging from the lower branches. Below the tree stood three animals: a buck, a boar and a fox. All stood perfectly still facing the tree; their heads bowed and eyes shut. The woman escorting them stood straight, head held high and planted the blunt end of her spear firmly to the ground.

"Forgive my intrusion, but there is something important that requires your attention". After a moment of silence all three of the creatures before the tree raised their heads and turned in unison towards them. Their eyes contained a gently glowing white light that faded as they turned to look first at the fae woman, to Oscar and finally to Lily. The fox was the first to shift forms; rising onto its hind legs, its body began to stretch and change, fur receding to reveal pale skin and short orange hair atop the head of a thin adult man dressed in a similar fashion to the others Lily had seen within the village. The buck and boar also began to shift and soon there stood a tall elderly man, his large antlers protruding from his long greying hair, and a broad shouldered woman, small sharp tusks curling from her mouth, her dark skin decorated with swirls of red and white.


	6. Chapter Six

"Who are you and why have you come?" bellowed the tusked woman, her words clearly directed at Lily. Oscar immediately pushed past the antlered woman to stand in front of the three whom Lily assumed were the Elders she'd heard about.

"I brought her here." he said quickly "She was lost in the wood and-"

"She is human" interrupted the fox. "Now why, oh why would you bring an insignificant human girl here?" His words didn't seem to hold anything but curiosity, the corner of his mouth lifted in a small, somewhat amused, smile. "You could have easily just shown her back to path. But you didn't. That's very unlike you Oscar." Oscar looked away from the fox to the elderly Fae who stood quietly from the side.

"Elder Kaern, please understand. I brought her for a reason." When Elder Kaern merely raised an eyebrow Oscar began to shuffle in place and looked increasingly more nervous than he had done before. His confidence dwindling. "She has a red golem, that red cat thing she's holding" He pointed at Jacob who was nestled comfortably in Lily's arms. When Jacob didn't move or acknowledge anything that was happening around him at all, the Boar woman scoffed.

"A doll. You brought a human into our village, broke the number one rule, for a doll?" She moved towards Oscar and her voice rose steadily as she went on until she was practically shouting in his face. Lily had started to shake in fear and wanted so badly to turn and run, but the sight of Oscar hold his ground, albeit looking increasingly less confident and frankly rather nervous himself as this intimidating Fae towered over him, made her stay where she was rooted the spot. Her grasp on Jacob had become uncomfortably tight for the so called 'doll' and he wriggled in complaint.

"Calm yourself Yara" said Kaern moving towards Lily and placing a gentle hand upon the angry woman's back as he passed by her and Oscar, his gaze fixed on Jacob as the small cat struggled in Lily's arms. The others all noticed the movement and suddenly all eyes were on Lily as the elder Fae moved to stand directly in front of her. "Fascinating. Where did you get this creature?" He asked. His voice was calm and Lily immediately felt herself relax as his words washed over her. A calming spell? The thought came to her at the back of her mind, quiet and barely noticeable as she had the sudden urge to spill her entire story to this stranger.

"I made him" She answered, her mind felt almost empty and she was struggling to concentrate on anything but the Fae in front of her. No, a truth spell. Both? She forced herself to think as she pushed against the feeling of calm that covered her like a soft blanket, she could hear someone speaking. Were they asking questions? She wasn't sure, she'd stopped listening. Forcing her eyes closed she shook her head. Suddenly the feeling was gone and she snapped her eyes open and took several deep breaths, not realizing she had been holding them to begin with.

"Truly fascinating" Elder Kaern repeated as he looked her up and down. "And powerful too, not many can overcome a spell like that, especially not a child. What is your name?" Lily looked around at the others but found they were gone. Only Oscar remained sitting on the floor behind his Elder with wide eyes.

"My name is Lily Allman, sir."

"Well Lily Allman, we have a lot to talk about" Kaern stated. "Why don't we all go find a nice spot around the fire, and you can tell me all about the creatures in the dark" He stood and began to walk away, beckoning her to follow. Oscar looked towards Kaern and then back to Lily before standing up and offering her a hand. She couldn't remember sitting down but took the hand gratefully and he pulled her up onto her feet. Following them both towards a roaring fire in front of a large, beautifully decorated hut, Lily felt her stomach begin to drop. The monsters weren't real. They were just nightmares, something her over-active childish mind had made up. Weren't they?

It felt like hours before Lily was being shuffled along, half asleep, towards a small wooden hut. Jacob had long retired back into her bag, most likely feeling safer there than out in the open beside the roaring flames of the camp fire. The sun had set and the hamlet was mostly quiet, most of its inhabitants having retreated to their homes to sleep. She knew she should be more worried about wasting precious time instead of looking for her parents but she was just too tired.

She'd never really spoken about her nightmares in detail before and it had been pretty draining emotionally; many tears were shed that evening. The three elders plus Oscar (who had sat off by himself away from the fire and pretended, quite poorly, that he wasn't paying attention) merely sat patiently and listened. After telling them everything she could remember, she was exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open. At some point during her story the Fox elder, who Lily had learned was named Keelan, had brought her some sort of broth. She was too hungry to ask what was in it, since her small lunch earlier had been interrupted, but it tasted nice and the warmth made her feel content and sleepy.

Too tired to tell exactly who it was that led her to the cosy bed, she gave a small thank you and was asleep in seconds. Her contentment didn't last long. Not long after she closed her eyes she was back again in that same pitch black hellscape running for her life. Just one night! She pleaded to no-one in particular Can't I just have one peaceful night? The scene took place the same way it usually did. Running blindly until she woke. A hand on her shoulder shook her into consciousness and as her eyes fluttered open she saw it was one of the twins who had woken her up. It was still dark out and Lily couldn't quite tell which of the siblings was sitting beside her. There was no jewellery or leather cuffs to help identify them, their hair no longer braided and instead fell messily down their shoulders and back. The Fae reached forward and brushed away a tear from Lily's cheek.

"You were crying out in your sleep" the person whispered. "You're safe." As soon as they spoke it became clear that it was Paluk who had come to her aid and not his sister. She didn't know why he was suddenly being so nice when earlier that same day he'd tried to steal her shoes just for the fun of it, but it didn't really matter. She was a small, scared child in need of a hug and she didn't care who it came from so she threw herself forward and latched onto Paluk's waist burying her face into his chest. He clearly wasn't expecting it and tensed up, sitting there frozen for a moment, panic blooming on his face while a small human child clung to him and sobbed. Slowely he reached his hands up to rub soothing circles into her back. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Lily pulled away rubbing at her eyes.

"I'm very sorry" she said. It was barely a whisper, but Paluks long ears twitched in response.

"It's fine. You're what, five? It's to be expected" He said with a shrug.

"I'm Ten, actuall-" Lily huffed, frowning slightly.

"Whatever" he interrupted "you're a tiny kid, in strange place, surrounded by strange people. You're bound to be scared." He went silent for a moment, placing both hands in his lap. "Sorry about earlier, it was a pretty shi- oh um, a pretty mean thing to do. We weren't gonna like, hurt you or anything, and we were gonna take you back to the trail, I swear."

"Shoe-less" Lily added. Paluk lifted her head and looked at her guiltily

"well...yeah" he agreed. Lily had now completely stopped crying and, though the tear tracks were still visible, she felt much better than she did before.

"Why shoes though? Oscar said you sometimes ask him to sell them and buy human things for you, so why not just ask for the money, or jewellery in the first place?" She asked. It was something that she was genuinely curious about. Paluk laughed and shook his head.

"Where's the fun in that? I don't need their money. Selling their shoes afterwards is just a bonus. Even if I didn't happen to have a convenient human boy to wander into town for me I would still take the shoes. Though a couple times we've taken more than that." Lily could see a huge smile appear on his face as he recalled one their cons. "I remember this one human, he was completely lost and he was taking it out on everything in his sight. A really nasty piece of work, that one was." he sneered "Anyway, we were originally just gonna do the usual, but seeing this guy hack at the trees and throw stones at the birds and such, we decided he needed to be put in his place. By the end of it he was walking back into town in nothing but his boots!" Paluk had started laughing harder and harder while telling his story and Lily found herself laughing along with him.

"I remember that!" She giggled "Mr Gearson was so embarrassed that he stayed inside his home an entire week! He said he'd been robbed by a gang of fierce bandits! "

"Hah!" Paluk barked "No, it was just a couple of harmless little teens" he said as innocently as possible before bursting with laughter once more. They laughed together a few moments more before someone else entered the room. Lily couldn't quite make out who it was, but she didn't seem very pleased.

"Do you have any idea what time it is? Go back to bed, Paluk! Now!" the figure said in a harsh whisper. Paluk seemed to shrink into himself slightly before he rose from the bed.

"Whoops." he shrugged nonchalantly. "Well see you tomorrow, tiny human" he said with a wave of his hand and he sauntered off towards the door.

"My name's Lily" she replied with a smile.

"I'm sure it is" He said as he left. Once again she was alone. She didn't feel so scared anymore, but she also didn't want to go back to sleep so instead she reached down to her bag and pulled out the soft lump that was curled up inside and lay down with Jacob sat on her chest. He looked around, surveying the new surroundings and then laid his head on paws, becoming still once again. Lily's hand came up to gently stoke up and down his back and the song her mother had hummed a few nights back came to mind.

"We'll find them tomorrow" she whispered "I'm sure of it."

A few hours passed and the sun slowly began to rise, filling the hut with a soft light and allowing Lily to finally see what the room looked like. It wasn't very big, and was pretty bare; The bed she lay in seemed to be the only proper piece of furniture so it was clearly some sort of guest room. She wondered how often the Fae received guests that such a hut was needed.

Slipping from the warmth of the fur blankets, she picked up Jacob, and searched for her shoes. She couldn't remember taking them off, and giggled to herself when she thought back to Paluk paying her a visit during the night. Maybe he'd taken them after all? She did find them eventually underneath a blanket that must have been kicked off the bed during her nightmare. Once they were on she headed out into the sun, hoping no-one had forgotten there was a human visitor in among them.

Walking towards the larger huts that she assumed belonged to the Elders, Lily was keenly aware that she was being stared at. Everyone she passed stopped in their tracks and watched with wary eyes as she walked by. As she approached the largest of the huts, Elder Kaern emerged and greeted her with a smile.

"Good morning, Lily Allman. I hope you slept well?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you" Lily lied. The old fae didn't look convinced, but he didn't bring her up on it either and Lily was grateful for it. He led her back through the hamlet towards a small tree-house. Oscar sat outside on a branch whittling away on a branch, scowling at each curl of wood that fell to the ground.

"Oscar here will escort you to the human settlement you call 'Riverton'. He will not leave your side until you are safe with your parents." Though he spoke to Lily, his words seemed directed more towards the angry looking boy before them. Oscar looked up and glared at the Elder.

"I don't see why I can't just take her back to the trail as agreed in the first place" he argued.

"You brought her here, she is you're responsibility" Kaern replied.

"Fine, I'll take her to the town gates then. The guards there can look after her" Oscar reasoned. Kaern stood up straight and folded his arms behind his back.

"She needs a guide" He stated.

"I'm sure she'll find one"

"She already has. Do not argue with me, boy" Kaern warned. His voice rising suddenly. Oscar drew back and his gaze dropped to the floor.

"I don't want to leave" he said quietly. Elder Kaern stepped forward and carded a hand through the younger boys hair.

"You must" He pulled his hand away and turned towards Lily. "You may take whatever resources you feel you'll need from the store. Paluk and Leena are in there now, they will assist you. You will both leave when you are done." With that he turned, shifting back into buck form and walked off towards the large tree where she had been escorted to the day before.

"Umm" Lily began. Oscar jumped down from the tree branch and headed towards the storehouse. Lily quickly followed behind. "It'd okay if you just take me to the gate like you said. I can find my own way from there. You don't need to babysit me."

"Yeah well, you heard what he said" Oscar snapped back "Apparently you need a babysitter."

"I do not" she argued "I've haven't need one since I was five"

"Tough luck, Buttercup, deal with it" he said angrily and he stormed ahead, forcing Lily to pick up speed so as not to lose him. "Come on, lets go grab some stuff from the store and get this over with already. The sooner we leave, the sooner we find your parents and the sooner I can come back."

As they approached the storehouse door Lily could hear Paluk and Leena talking among themselves in a language Lily couldn't understand. Oscar coughed loudly from the doorway and they both looked up at the interruption. Seeing Lily, Paluk immediately smiled brightly and beckoned her over.

"There you are dear, we were just talking about you. How was the rest of your night? No more nightmares I hope?" He asked, passing her a large green pear.

"You gave my brother quite a fright you know" Leena added as she elbowed her twin in the ribs teasingly.

"Did not" Paluk said quickly "I just didn't want to kept awake all night by the crying that's all." He sniffed and pushed his snickering sister away. "Anyway we've already been briefed by Elder Kaern and packed a few things up for you." He picked up a brown bag from the floor beside him and chucked it at Oscar who only just caught it. He opened it up and frowned at the contents. "Not to your liking? We can switch some of the food out for something else" Paluk asked.

"There has to be about two weeks worth of stuff in here, how long does he think it's gonna take to find one kids parents?" Oscar said confused.

"Don't ask us" Leena replied "We're just doing what we're told. He told us to pack 'at least two weeks worth of supplies' so, we've packed you two weeks worth of supplies." Lily quietly stood munching on her pear as the talked. She swallowed her mouthful and lowered her hands to her sides.

"He doesn't think we'll find my parents are in Riverton, does he?" she asked and the other three all stopped to look at her.

"I'm sure it's just a precaution" Paluk answered "None of us really know very much about human settlements but we know that 'Riverton' or whatever is a pretty big one so, better safe than sorry yeah?" he said hopefully. Though it was clear to Lily from the look in his eyes that he was just saying that to give her some piece of mind.

"Come on, we'd better get going" Oscar hauled the bag over his shoulder and turned towards the door. Lily sighed, looked up at the twins then went to follow him out.

"Take care of yourself, Curls" Paluk said as she went to leave. Lily looked back at them both and waved.

"Thank you for the hug, and the story. It was nice meeting you." As she turned again towards the door she saw heard Leena laugh followed by a smug "I knew it" and a small thud and scuffle as they pushed each other playfully. Gripping her own bag she ran to catch up with Oscar who had barged on ahead towards the path leading to the thicker foliage where they had entered the little Fae village. Both of them walking in awkward silence as the birds and other woodland beasts carried on with their daily business.


	7. Chapter Seven

Lily was bored. They'd been walking in silence for about two hours or so (although she didn't really have any way of knowing since the sun was blocked by the treetops, but it felt like hours). Any attempt at making conversion had been brushed off (her companion clearly not in the mood for small talk) and Lily was getting a bit sick of it.

"How much longer do you think it will take?" she asked. Oscar sighed and rolled his eyes.

"As long as it takes! Will you please stop asking?" He rearranged the supply bag from one shoulder to the other, grunting at the weight of it.

"We could always take a break" she suggested "I didn't see you eat anything before we left so surely you must be hungry?"

"I'm fine" the moody teen snapped back. Lily watched him as they walked. The scowl from this morning had not left his face and he had kept a steady pace the entire time.

"If you hate being here so much then why don't you just go back home" She spat, crossing her arms "Since my presence is clearly so horrible." At this the taller boy halted in his tracks and lifted his head up to the sky.

"If I could just dump you here and go back then I would. You're right, I don't want to be here. But I don't have a choice." Lily's brow furrowed in frustration and further confusion.

"There's nothing stopping you, you know. I can make my own way from here." She tightened her grip on her bag and straightened her back trying to make herself as tall as she could. Oscar merely turned his head to look at the child beside him and sighed once more.

"You heard what Kaern said. I'm not to leave your side until we find your parents. If I went back now he'd be furious."

"So then just tell him we found them. Problem solved" Lily proposed. Oscar huffed a small laugh and shook his head.

"Unbelievable" he muttered to himself. "It doesn't work like that. He'd know I was lying. He always knows. It's like this special power that only he has."

As Oscar continued to complain about his inability to ever get away with anything, Lily had started to look around nervously and unconsciously shuffled closer to the now very talkative teen. As she bumped into his side he stopped talking and looked down at her with one eyebrow raised. "What are you doing?" He asked. When she didn't reply and instead look increasingly more anxious and jittery he let the bag drop from his shoulder and turned fully to face her. "Are you even listening?"

"Shut up" Lily whispered quickly. The boy raised his eyebrows at this.

"Excuse me?" He replied defensively.

"SHHH! Listen!" she said pleadingly. He stopped and they both stood there in the silence.

"What am I supposed to be listening for? I don't hear anything" he admitted.

"Exactly" Lily replied quietly, her pulse quickening. "There's no sound at all. No birds, no wind in the branches. It's all stopped." They stood in silence again, listening for any kind of sound or movement but heard nothing.

"Okay yeah, that is pretty strange. The woods have never been this quiet before." Oscar agreed, his own heart starting to beat faster. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he glanced around the woods surrounding him when he caught a small movement just outside his field of view. His head snapped round towards it as a large black beast jumped out at them. Lily screamed as Oscar grabbed her and pulled her back out of reach of its claws. The beast stood and stared at them with pitch black eyes as Oscar bent down slowly to grab a large branch which he held in front of them. The creature before them bared pitch black teeth but made no sound. It swiped a large claw towards them and Oscar swung back with the branch, gasping in shock dropping the branch as it merely passed through, disrupting the creature's inky form. Lily scrambled in her bag for her wand and held it out in front of her protectively.

"My branch was a lot bigger, what do you think a tiny twig's gonna do" Oscar yelled out. The beast had started circling them and Lily closed her eyes, focusing on her wand. She whimpered as she felt the familiar power burn though her and opened her eyes with a gasp as the shadowy monster leaped towards them again. Oscar fell back to the floor in fear as bright light erupted from end of the wand and shot through the creature, forcing it back and to the floor. It looked up at them before seeming to melt into the ground and disappearing entirely. Oscar stared at the spot where the beast had been and slowly moved towards it, patting at the ground. "It's go-gone. I-I think" He stuttered and he continued to look at the floor disbelievingly. "How did you-?" He heard a pained whimper and quickly turned to see Lily curled in on herself. The wand was now lying in the dirt, but flickers of light piercing through her hands, eyes and mouth.

"Help" she cried and he rushed forward, dropping to his knees in front of her.

"Hey it's okay, it's all fine" he cooed gently "It's gone, we're safe." When his attempts didn't seem to be working he looked around desperately and noticed her bag on the floor. Jacob struggling from inside. He grabbed it and opened the top, pulled the cat from inside and thrust Jacob into her arms, wincing at noise she made as he pulled her arms from her chest. "Here's your cat! It's all okay now, you're fine!" Jacob instantly started to rub against her face lovingly, desperate to help his owner. Lily's hands started to pet him slowly and her shoulders began to relax. The strange lights gradually ceased to flicker and then faded entirely. Oscar gave a huge sigh of relief and ran a hand over his face and through his hair. "Just what have I gotten myself into?" he muttered.

Gradually the sounds of nature returned. It started with a small breeze rustling above, followed by the occasional bird call. Before long the world around them was a bustle of sound once more, as though nothing had even disturbed it. Oscar looked over at the small girl who sat quietly beside him, clutching Jacob as though he were any old soft toy. Once her sniffling had ceased he dragged himself to his feet, the movement causing both her and Jacob to look up at him. "Come on" he said gently "Riverton's not far now. We probably shouldn't stay here any longer." He picked up the discarded supply bag and hefted it onto his left shoulder then stood and waited for Lily to do the same. She carefully picked up her wand and tucked in back into her bag then, after pulling herself to her feet, mirrored Oscars actions and slug it over her shoulder with one hand, keeping Jacob in a tight grip with the other. The two of them started walking again side by side.

True to his word, the trail through the wood began to clear and they could see a river and stone bridge that lead into the town, two guards leaning against it's wall talking among themselves. The guards hadn't noticed them yet when Oscar placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"You have money to get in right?" He asked. She nodded and went to reach into her bag for her purse.

"I should have enough for you too" she answered taking out a few silver coins, but he shook his head.

"Save it, you may need it later." He said pushing her coin filled hand away. "You go on ahead, I'll meet you in there by the bakery. The one by the entrance. You can't miss it, okay?" She nodded slowly, brows furrowed.

"I know the one you mean. How are you going to get it though?" she whispered back, eyeing the guards.

"I have my ways, I sneak in and out all the time." With that he slunk back into the foliage and crept down to the river, keeping out of sight of the guards. With a deep breath Lily walking forwards towards them, smiling politely as one of the guards noticed her approach and motioned to the other.

"Good morning." She greeted "How are you both today?" The taller of the guards raised a brow but the other returned her greeting.

"Not bad little lady, not bad. What brings you here on your own hmm?" Although the whole point of coming to Riverton was to ask around for her parents whereabouts, something about telling the truth right then made her feel uneasy.

"I'm meeting my father here" she lied. The taller guard decided to speak up then.

"You're the Scholars girl arn't you? He hasn't been through today." He stated. She wasn't sure if he was suspicious or just concerned. But she kept up her smile and added a little more to her lie.

"Oh I know" she said confidently "He had to work yesterday and is travelling back this morning. He said he'd meet me at the bakery and treat me to something special since he missed my birthday." She did her best to sound excited at the thought, and though her heart was pounding so loud that she was sure they must have been able to hear it, the shorter guard just wished her a happy birthday and asked her for six copper coins. She handed over the toll payment and thanked them both before heading across the bridge and, once clear of their sight, rushed over to the Bakery that stood on a street corner nearest the bridge. Standing outside she looked around nervously, seeking out the familiar leathers of the strange human boy. A few people passing by gave her some concerned looks, and one elderly woman even came up to ask her if she was okay. She just smiled and told her the same lie as before. "My father is on his way, but thank you for asking". After about ten minutes of waiting she began to get even more anxious. What if he'd left her here like he'd wanted to? What if he'd been caught!? He could have been dragged off by the guards and thrown in jail! She could sweet talk her way around people pretty well she thought, but getting someone out of prison? She wasn't that confident in her abilities. Panic started to build higher and higher and her stomach twisted with nerves when a hand shot out and spun her round.

"Boo!" She gave a loud yelp and leaped back as Oscar started to howl with laughter. With a hand on her chest she tried to catch her breath as she watched the teen clutch at his sides, clearly very pleased with his little prank. She reached forward and hit him on the arm.

"Why did you do that!? That was horrible!" she shouted.

"Ow" he moaned as he rubbed his arm and leaned back, still smirking and slightly breathless. "Sorry, but that was perfect! I couldn't just let that opportunity pass by." As he 'apologised' she noticed he was dressed differently. Gone were the brown leathers and in their place was a faded, a slightly torn purple shirt, and grey trousers that she suspected may have once been black but they were in the same state as the shirt so it was hard to tell. He had an old pair of brown sandals on his feet, the straps looking as though they could snap at any moment.

"Where did you get the clothes? I assume that's why you took so long?" She asked. Oscar looked down and shrugged.

"Yeah I keep a secret stash down by the river. Need to blend in with the locals whenever I drop by. Can't roll in here in Fae garb can I?" He replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Anyway, we better start asking round for your folks. May as well start here, right?" He turned and entered the bakery, holding the door open for her to follow, a waft of sweet smelling air filling their nostrils and causing both their stomachs rumble in anticipation.


	8. Chapter Eight

Their time wandering around Riverton was pretty uneventful. They went from store to store, asking every owner whether they'd seen Mr or Mrs Allman at all in the last couple of days, and were given a fairly similar answer each time. The Allman family frequented the town often enough that they didn't have to worry about the store owners not knowing who they were, but that didn't change the fact that no-one had seen either of them for about a week or so. Occasionally Lily would be asked whether she wanted the guards alerted to help reunite her with her parents but she would just point at Oscar, tell them he was her cousin, and leave before they could ask anymore questions.

It was coming up to three in the afternoon when Oscar decided they'd wandered around enough and dragged Lily to the nearest Inn. When they entered, the woman who ran the Inn was handing a key to a strange looking man. As he walked off down the hall, supposedly towards his room, she remembered where she'd seen him before. He'd been outside her mothers shop, dressed as he was now: covered head to toe in winter clothing, hat and scarf included. She pondered the strange man for a moment before Oscar pushed her towards the counter to talk to the Inn keeper.

The older woman was a little uncertain about renting to them at first; an eight year old little girl and a scruffy looking teenage boy probably didn't look all that trustworthy and Lily understood her reluctance: they were an odd looking pair. After a few minutes of polite chitchat with the woman, and an inquiry into a possible breakfast the next morning, she eventually relented and offered them a small room in the back. She did demand upfront payment though, and while Lily wasn't too bothered, Oscar wasn't too happy about it. Lily was thankful that he didn't cause a scene, although he did constantly glare at the woman behind her back, scoffed when she told them to enjoy their stay and called her a few rather unkind words once she'd left.

The room had two small single beds and tiny side room, barely bigger than a closet, that had a small toilet and sink crammed into it. Once they were alone and the door was shut and locked, Oscar threw himself onto one of the beds and lifted their supply bag up onto his lap. He pulled out an assortment of dried meats and fruits and offered some to Lily. She'd suggested saving the money they didn't use on the room for any other necessities they may need rather than eating out in one of the restaurants or cafes around; No need to waste the food given to them after all.

After Oscar had had his fill he turned to watch Lily as she sat crossed legged on the bed slowly chewing on a piece of dried beef. Jacob had climbed out of her bag and was on his back, stretched across the mattress beside her. The tip of her wand was also poking out of the bag and his gaze fell down to stare at it. Oscar cleared his throat, getting Lily's attention and she turned to look at him as she ate.

"We should...probably talk about what happened...don't you think?" He asked. Lily stopped eating and let her hand fall to her knees.

"It was one of the monsters from my dream" She said quietly "I think so anyway" she quickly added.

"You think so?" He questioned.

"Yes well..." she started "As I told your elders last night," Oscar opened his mouth to say something but Lily cut him off "I know you were listening, it was obvious" His mouth clicked shut again and he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, as I said before, I've never actually seen what they look like, it's always too dark to see anything in my dreams."

"How do you know it's the same, then?" he asked.

"I don't know. It just felt the same." Lily drew her knees up under her chin, the movement disturbed Jacob and he rolled over and nuzzled against her thigh. She smiled and moved a hand down the pet the top of her head.

"Is that how you knew how to do the thing with the stick" Oscar said, nodding his head towards the beech wand poking out of her bag by her feet.

"The what?" She said looking down confused until her eyes saw the wand he'd been looking at. "Oh!" She bent down and picked up her wand, twirling it in her hands. "No, I didn't know if that would even work. I wasn't really thinking straight if I'm being honest. Everything was happening so fast and I just...did...that..." Oscar stared at her for a few seconds before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, thinking about everything that happened earlier in the wood.

"Okay." He started "So has that ever happened before? The whole magic light explosion thing I mean." He made a pushing gesture with his hands.

"No" Lily answered immediately shaking her head. "Well, yes once" she said, leaning back slightly, placing the wand down on the bed she thought over the last few days. "Twice?" she said as if asking herself a question. She nodded her head and turned back to Oscar "Yes it's happened twice. Once with my mother while we were practicing potion making, and then again after they disappeared. Though I don't really remember the second time very much, I was...upset, but I do know that both times were completely accidental."

"So this third time was on purpose? You planned on blasting the monster away?" He asked.

"Sort of" she said slowly "I knew I had to do something at least. Like I said before, every happened so fast and I just kind of did it without thinking."

"Okay, and after the first two times? Was that the same as what happened in the woods? With the light and the glowing?" Lily shook her head.

"No. At the shop and then again in the kitchen, afterwards the burning just stopped."

"Burning?" Oscar said as she spoke though she ignored him.

"The 'glowing' is new too. I'm pretty sure that didn't happen last time." She looked up into Oscars eyes and he could see tears beginning to form. "Both of my parents are respected magick users and they've been teaching me about magick for as long as I can remember! I've never heard of something like this happening before. I'm scared." Jacob sat up and pushed his way onto Lily's lap, rubbing his head against her stomach affectionately.

"Honestly, me too" Oscar admitted. "I don't know where that thing came from, or how long it had been following us, but we weren't that far out from home. What if there were more of them and the others..." He shook his head and slowly moved the supply bag from the bed to the floor before laying down on his side towards Lily. "I hope everyone's okay."

"Me too" Lily whispered.

"It's been a long day, so I'm gonna get some sleep okay? Don't wander off 'cause I wont come looking for you if you get lost." Oscar pulled one of the blankets that covered the mattress over him and closed his eyes. Lily put her own bag onto the floor and, not feeling quite tired enough to sleep yet, pulled out the unfinished scarf and started to crochet. The repetitive motions of pushing and pulling the crochet hook through each stitch helped her to relax and very soon her project was complete. A long winding scarf lay across the bed and trailed down over the edge of the mattress and onto the floor. She'd decided on a simple scalloped design for each end and after weaving in the yarn tails she gathered the scarf up and admired her work. It was deep purple and incredibly soft. She wrapped it around her gently and instead of feeling overbearingly hot, as would be expected from wearing a scarf this time of year, her neck felt perfect. Not hot nor cold, but just right.

She smiled to herself, happy that her enchantment had worked as she'd hoped it would. She may not be able to make potions, or control fire, or levitate even a feather, but she could do this. Okay, so she may not know how, but surely it didn't really matter. Her mother had raised concerns before about her own little magick, she'd overheard her telling her father how 'it wasn't normal'. It had led to a few arguments between her parents, especially after Jacob had come to life the morning after she'd made him.

She'd done some research of her own into enchantments, but nothing she read seemed to be relevant to her. She'd hoped to ask her grandmother about it. When she'd been gifted her first crochet hook and ball of yarn she'd thought nothing of it other than a way for her and her grandmother to bond: A skill passed down from grandmother to granddaughter. But after her first pair of mittens, that were way to small on first inspection to fit anyone, seemed to grow and shrink to fit the hands of anyone who tried them on, she started to think that maybe her grandmother had known more than she let on. It was Grandma Kells who had sent her the pattern and the bright red wool she had used to make Jacob. Had she known he would come to life?

Thinking about her grandmother, Lily started to feel incredibly guilty. She'd been so worried about her parents that she'd forgotten that her grandmother was technically missing as well. Why hadn't she come to see her on her birthday? She didn't leave her home very often, but she'd never missed her yearly visit. Maybe we can go and check on her Lily thought to herself. She folded the scarf up and put it, and her crochet tools, back into her bag. She glanced over and Oscar who had now fallen into a deep sleep and was snoring quietly. 'I'll ask him tomorrow. I have a general idea of where she lives. Maybe mother and father are with her' She thought hopefully.

Though it was still light outside, Lily got up and closed the shutter on the small window and crawled into bed. She removed her shoes and head band and looked down at her dress. Perhaps we should head back home so I can grab some clothes. I should have just enough for to pay for a carriage there, and can grab some more money to ride back again. She climbed underneath the blanket and Jacob curled up beside her head, nestled in her hair. She reluctantly closed her eyes, knowing what awaited in her dreams. She just prayed she didn't wake Oscar up in the night.

As she expected, her prayers weren't answered. Oscar shook her awake in the middle of the night and when she finally woke and looked at him, the first thing she noticed was the panic on his face. The second thing she noticed were the screams. She sat up suddenly and looked to the window. Jacob stood in front of it, head down and back arched. His whole body language screamed fear and anger. Through the window she could hear the shouts and screams of the towns people, and the toll of a loud bell.

"We have to go, now!" Oscar shouted and he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of bed. Both his bag and hers already slung around his shoulders, he picked up her shoes and shoved them into her arms. She quickly put them on and then ran to pick up Jacob as Oscar unbolted the door and opened it a fraction, peeking through.

"What's happening?" She asked in a quiet whisper.

"I don't know but it sounds bad! The coast is clear so come on, stay close!" He waited for her to stand next to him and then, with a nod, grabbed her hand and flung the door open and ran out down the hall, through the exit into the street and straight into the path of three pitch black beasts.


	9. Chapter Nine

The pair stood frozen in place staring at the backs of the three enormous beasts in front of them. Lily looked head of the beasts and frowned when she saw the figure of a man standing still among the chaos. The monsters did not appear to be targeting him and on closer inspection she noticed that beneath his clothes, his body appeared to be made from the same shadowy substance. Jacob writhed in Lily's arms and she struggled to keep hold on him. Oscar held a hand out in front of her and stepped back slowly, encouraging Lily to do the same. As they stepped back towards the Inn however, Lily bumped into the wooden door and gave a small yelp. One of her hands flew up to cover her mouth but it was too late. All three of the beast's heads snapped round towards them and their mouths opened in a silent growl.

The shadowy figure also turned slowly to look at them and as he did, Lily recognized the heavy coat he wore. It was the same man she'd seen both outside her mothers shop and when they'd entered the Inn, Lily was sure of it, even though he was no longer wearing the thick gloves, scarf and hat that had hidden his dark features. As the shadow man raised a hand and pointed towards them, Oscar grabbed Lily's shoulders and shoved her through the Inn door as the three beasts started to run at them.

"Run! Go go go!" he shouted. They ran back through the corridors of the small and in eventually burst through a heavy door and found themselves in the kitchen. Oscar shut the door behind them, grabbing a discarded broom he hastily shoved it through the handle in an attempt to keep the beasts out. He rushed towards one of the three other doors within the room and Lily went to another. "One of these has to be a back door!" He pleaded, grabbing the handle and pulling in open to find a small pantry. He growled and slammed in shut, looking over to the apparent second pantry Lily had discovered. As she closed the door and turned hopefully towards the third possible exit, there was a heavy thud against the entrance that Oscar had barred that made them both jump. The thuds were soon accompanied by loud scratching and while Lily was distracted, Jacob managed to jump free from her grasp and raced towards the third unopened door and pawed frantically. Oscar and Lily both ran towards it and flung it open to reveal an empty side alley. Oscar scooped up the red feline, grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her into the street, slamming the door behind them. He silently thanked whatever gods may be listening that the cat under his arm didn't have any claws. An actual cat would have torn his arm to shreds and Jacob was definitely trying to do the same.

As it turned out, the alleyway looped around towards the front of the Inn and they ended up back outside the inn's entrance. Most the towns folk were running towards the towns bridge as it was the only way in or out of Riverton, other than climbing over it's high walls. With no other choice, Oscar dragged Lily in the same direction, skirting around the edges of the streets and hiding behind anything they could. Black beasts of all different shapes and sizes were chasing those who ran erratically. As they approached the bakery that they'd first gone to that morning, they saw the baker outside waving a pair of knives at a dog like monster. The blades merely passed through the creature, momentarily disrupting its inky form, just as Oscar's branch had done in the wood. Lily wanted to shout a warning to the man but before she could make any sound the beast leaped towards him, knocking him to the ground as he cried out in pain, its teeth sunk into his shoulder. Instead of bleeding, the wound grew black and the darkness spread quickly over the bakers body, until he was nothing more than a black mass beneath the creature. Oscar and Lily watched in horror as the beast appeared to then absorb the shadowy mass of the baker, the two fusing together as one; its body growing ever so slightly in size. They stayed where they were, hidden behind a cart and watched as the beast ran off in search of more prey. Oscar looked around and once he was certain that there were no monsters nearby he crept forward towards the bridge, motioning for Lily to follow. As he reached the gate to the town he stopped and leaned against the wall, peering out into the bridge.

"Coast looks clear. When I say 'go' we're gonna make a run for it, okay?" He whispered. When he got no reply he turned to look at Lily to find he was on his own. "Lily!?" he called looking desperately around him for the small girl. He caught a glimpse of her yellow dress and saw her standing frozen in the middle of the street, a shadowy figure of a woman standing before her. Neither were moving, so he walked cautiously towards them, his gaze never leaving the shadow woman that had began to beckon at Lily to go towards her. He saw Lily go to step forward and called out to her "Lily? Are you okay?" he asked and she stopped moving and as she turned her head towards him, he saw fear and confusion on her face. "We have to go." Lily glanced towards the woman again who's beckoning motions had become more exaggerated.

"It's my mother" she whispered. Oscar stared at the figure before them and shook his head.

"I don't think so" Oscar replied. Jacob was was now more frantic than ever and the yarn was beginning to chafe the boys skin as he struggled to keep a grip.

"It has to be her!" Lily argued "Those monsters have done something to her, but we can help! We can take her to a healer!" She turned towards Oscar and saw another beast running at them from behind and leap towards Oscar. She screamed out a warning and Oscar turned, eyes wide, and threw Jacob away from him and, as the large beast was about to land on him, he disappeared. Fearing the worst Lily let out a cry of despair which turned into a shocked gasp as the teen suddenly appeared beside her and pulled her towards him and out of the way of the shadow woman who had lunged towards her while her back was turned.

"That's not your Ma, we have to go!" Oscar shouted. The shadow woman glared at them and silently screamed, her human like features mutating into something more grotesque. As she lunged at them once more, Lily again felt the burning sensation build up within her. Jacob ran in between, taking an aggressive stance, and the yarn that made up his body unravelled revealing a bright light shining out rather than soft stuffing. In mere moments the small red house cat was gone, replaced by a large panther made entirely of light, red yarn dancing around its form. The panther raised a large paw and swiped at the dark attacker, its glowing claws ripping through the inky form, causing it to fall to the ground and disappear completely. The giant cat then set its sights on the beast that had attacked Oscar and raced towards it. The two clashed together and fought briefly, before the shadow beast was also thrown to the floor in defeat. The panther turned it's head towards Oscar and Lily, who stared back in shock, then turned and raced passed the bridge, taking out any monsters it came across. Oscar was the first to move, grabbing Lily's wrist and pulling her towards the bridge. They ran out of the town in silence and followed the river until they couldn't run any more.

Eventually the pair came to a smaller, wooden bridge, two posts either side held lanterns enchanted to gave off a dim glow, and Oscar dragged Lily down underneath and sat down, leaning up against the wooden posts, breathing heavily. Lily followed suit and hugged her bag to her chest as she all but collapsed beside him. They sat in silence, staring at nothing and listening to the running water as they caught their breath.

"You know magick" Lily said, breaking the silence.

"A little" Oscar replied.

"You can teleport"she said accusingly.

"Yeah" Oscar sighed.

"That's how you got into the town?" She asked, turning to look at him. Oscar just nodded, keeping his gaze forward. "Why didn't you just port us out of the town?" she asked. Oscar bent his head forward and rubbed his eyes.

"I can't take anyone with me. Takes a lot of effort just to teleport myself. Honestly, I'm not sure how I even managed to get out of the way in time." he admitted quietly. He sounded close to tears and Lily couldn't blame him. "What is going on?" He asked, though it was clear that the question wasn't directed at Lily. He brought his hands down and lifted his head back quickly, knocking it against the wooden frame of the bridge. "Seriously, this is not what I signed up for! This is crazy!" Lily just sat beside him and listened. If she noticed the way his eyes had become red with the tears that were threatening to fall, she didn't mention it. He balled his hand into a fist and slammed in hard on the ground, the motion causing Lily to jolt slightly. He turned his head away and brought a hand up to wipe the moisture from his eyes. He took a moment to regain his composure and then pulled the supply sack from his shoulders, pulling out a small canteen of water and taking a sip. He offered it to Lily, but she shook her head and pulled out her own bottle of water from her bag. "Did you know he could do that?" he asked, lifting the canteen back up to his lips.

"What?" Lily replied blankly. Oscar rolled his eyes at her.

"Your cat." he said bluntly. Lily's eye widened as she realized what he'd meant.

"Not at all! I'm as shocked as you are!" she insisted. She looked down at the water bottle on her hand and took a long drink of the cool liquid. As she swallowed she looked out into the night. "I hope he's okay" she said quietly.

"Oh I'm sure he's just fine." Oscar murmured into his drink. A faint rustling caught their attention and they two of them held their breath and they stared out into the darkness. The rustling got louder and Lily was ready to bolt again, when the small red cat sauntered out from a bush and down underneath the bridge. Oscar and Lily both let out a relived sigh and Lily rushed forward and pick Jacob up and hugged him close. Jacob pushed his face against hers and settled down in her lap as if nothing had happened, as content and happy as could be. Oscar stared at the red feline and shook his head. "I'm too tired to deal with this now." he muttered and leaned back against the bridge and closed his eyes. "Get some sleep, we only have a couple hours 'til sunrise" he ordered, arms wrapping around himself as she shivered slightly.

Lily shuddered as well as a cold breeze blew underneath their shelter, and she grabbed her bag to pull out the scarf she'd completed that evening. She nudged Oscar and offered him one end to wrap around himself, wrapping the other around her shoulders and leaning into the gentle warmth it provided. He examined the soft material before copying Lily and wrapping it loosely around his shoulders, immediately relaxing as the enchantment worked its magic. His legs were still cold but the supply bag provided some resistance against the weather so he was sure he deal with it for a few hours, but he mourned the loss of his Fae leathers. He wrapped his hands up in the ends of the scarf to keep them warm and got himself as comfortable as possible to drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone bothers to read this, any criticism or general comments are more than welcome!


	10. Chapter Ten

Oscar was pulled into consciousness the next morning by the sound of quiet laughter. It was a sound he knew fairly well and he groaned loudly. Opening one eye he glared at the twins who sat opposite the river, failing to stifle the sound of their amusement at finding Oscar under a bridge with a sleeping child clinging to his arm.

"What are you two doing here?" he moaned as he attempted to remove himself from Lily's grip without waking her. His struggle just caused her to tighten her octopus like grip and the sight made the twins laugh even harder so that Leena had to grab Paluks arm to stop him from falling into the water.

"Did we disturb your little bonding time?" She said shoving her brother backwards. Oscar glowered at the two and, with his free hand, picked up a small stone and threw it in their direction. Leena casually leaned out of the way from the projectile, smirking at the trapped teen.

"Since when are you a cuddler, hmm?" Paluk sat up with a large, sharp toothed smile.

"I'm not" Oscar replied through gritted teeth. The twins both gave pointed looks to the sleeping girl with her purple scarf still draped across the two of them. Oscar just glared and acted as though he wasn't trapped under a bridge by an unconscious eight year old. "You didn't answer my question." The twins leaned back together against the wooden support beams and folded their arms, their actions completely in sync with one another.

"We both decided that if you were going on some fantastical adventure then why shouldn't we? We want to see the world a little. Can't let you have all the fun" Paluk leaned his weight against his sister as he spoke, the brim of his hat poking her in the head, and she shouldered him away with a smile.

"Fantastical adventure!?" Oscar hissed "This is in no way a 'fantastical adventure'! The past day has been horrible!" His voice starting to raise, Jacob lifted his head from Lily's lap as she started to stir. "We've almost died like, twenty times already and I only left home yesterday!" At this the twins stopped smiling and began to look slightly concerned.

"What do you mean 'almost died'?" Leena asked standing up and pulling her brother up with her, motioning to the other side of the river where the two humans sat.

"Yeah, are humans settlements really that dangerous?" The two of them jumped up onto the bridge and crossed over, dropping down beside Oscar and Leena started to look them over. Noticing the various scrapes and bruises she grabbed Oscar's free arm to gently inspect a particularly nasty bruise. Oscar stared down at in in confusion, he hadn't even noticed how banged up he was from escaping the town last night, the adrenaline and fear most likely numbing any pain. They'd tripped and knocked themselves into walls and doors a few times in their rush to get to safety so it wasn't that surprising.

"What happened yesterday?" Leena asked as she continued to fuss over Oscar, Paluk moving over to Lily to do the same, whispering a quiet 'good morning sugarplum' at the girl who was now rubbing at her eyes and looking around blearily, still half asleep.

"Good morning?" She replied quietly as she Fae boy gently inspected a light bruise on her wrist from where Oscar had hastily pulled her along the dark streets.

"It wasn't the humans that attacked us, it was these creepy shadow monsters." Oscar turned to Leena who looked skeptical but didn't interrupt. "We were attacked by one just an hour or so after leaving, we hadn't even left the wood by then. Everything went really quiet, like 'unnaturally' quiet, and then this huge black beast jumped out at us."

"We left about an hour or so after you did and we haven't come across any kind of monsters. What did they look like?" She held out her hand towards Oscars other arm, no longer held down by Lily, and he gave it to her reluctantly to inspect.

"Like enormous black beasts, and not just 'coloured' black you know? They were made of actual darkness and shadows? It's kinda hard to describe it honestly. But there were loads of them in the town, how have you not come across one if you followed us?"

"We didn't follow you, don't flatter yourself" Paluk answered "We've been keeping to the woods and off the main roads."

"Also we're Fae, honey, in case you've forgotten. We don't generally travel looking like this." Leena waved a hand down her body "So you escaped the one in the woods and it followed you to town? Brought it's buddies?"

"No we killed it, I think. Lily did anyway" Oscar nodded to the curly haired girl who was now happily munching on a pear. Jacob had made his way from her lap and onto Paluk's, who was petting the cat uncertainly when Oscar spoke, and his head jerked up at the small human and then to Oscar.

"Repeat that, because I'm pretty sure you just said a toddler took out some huge monstrous shadow demon."

"I'm Ten" Lily groaned in between bites of her breakfast, looking frustrated when no one seemed to take any notice.

"She used some sort of magic light beam and blasted it. It was kinda cool, actually" Oscar shrugged and the twins stared at him as though he were insane. "What!? stop looking at me like that!" he barked and they shook their heads.

"So she's some sort of witch?" Leena asked as she looked Lily over once more, not quite believing that the tiny human could do any kind of magic.

"She has a magic toy cat. Of course she's a witch" Oscar scoffed and Leena slapped his shoulder. Lily giggled as Oscar rubbed his shoulder.

"My parents are both witches. They run a potion shop. My mother uses mostly plant magick, and my father specializes in elemental magick." She said proudly. Leena perked up at this, her long ears twitching upwards.

"That's pretty impressive. So what's your specialty?" Lily looked taken aback by the question and withdrew slightly looking a little embarrassed.

"Oh...um" she stuttered "I don't really have one. I guess it could be enchantment? But I don't actually know how to do it, it just happens. My parents have been trying to teach me different spells and potion making but I just can't seem to do any of it right." Disappointed with herself, she avoided their gaze and went back to eating her pear.

"Well clearly" Paluk started, placing a hand on her shoulder "They're not teaching you properly" Lilys head shot up at this and she glared angrily at him

"My parent's are great teachers!" she scolded "I'm just not a very good student." Paluk shook his head.

"Do you listen to what they say, take their advice and try your best?" He asked. Lily looked shocked and mildly offended at his question.

"Of course I do! But-"

"Then you're a great student" He interrupted "But their ways of teaching just ain't what you need. If what mister grump over there says is true, then you've definitely got the talent, you just need a different teacher." Lily mulled over his words and nodded.

"I think I understand." She relented "It could't hurt to try a new approach I guess. Thank you." Paluk picked up Jacob from his lap and dropped him onto hers with a smirk.

"Besides, you're like, three years old. These things take time" The three of them laughed at her frowning face.

They sat under the bridge for another hour talking about the events of Riverton as they ate breakfast and filled their water skins and bottle. Oscar and Lily warning the twins of the sinister man covered in layers of clothing, the shadow form of Lily's mother and Jacobs transformation.

"So where are you going to go now?" Leena asked from her where she now lay draped over her brothers lap with Jacob laying on her chest. Paluk was casually picking strands of grass from the floor and decorating her hair with them. She'd given up trying to stop him doing it about ten minutes ago and her hair was now more green than blonde.

"I'd like to go visit my grandmother if that's okay?" she suggested to Oscar who was laying on his side with his head in his hand. "She was supposed to come visit for my birthday but never showed up. She tends to avoid people as much as possible so I'm hoping she just forgot and is still at home." He hummed in response and rolled onto his back.

"It's better than wandering around aimlessly. You know where she lives?"

"Not exactly, I've never actually been to her home before, but I know she lives in Veloren Forest." The older three all sat up at once, tufts of grass flying around from Leena's hair, and stared at Lily with wide eyes. "What is it?" she asked and the twins shared a look.

"There is no way we're going to Veloren, that place is super dangerous." Paluk declared shaking his head.

"You must have your forests mixed up 'cos no way does your gran live there" Leena added, shaking her head to remove the rest of the grass.

"No, it's definitely Veloren forest. I'm one hundred percent certain of that" Lily argued "What's in there that makes it so dangerous?"

"What isn't in there" Leena nervously laughed "That forest is full of deadly creatures, and not your usual ones like bears or big cats. We're talking harpies, griffins, wyverns. I'm pretty sure there's an actual dragon in there somewhere too"

"And if one of those don't get you, the Hag will" Oscar added.

"The Hag?" Lily asked.

"An ancient evil old witch that lives in the heart of the forest. They say she's a shape shifter, but she's not Fae, and anyone who dares wander through the forest gets fed to her pet wyvern." Paluk explained. Lily burst out laughing and the others looked on concerned.

"We're being totally serious here, everyone knows to stay away from Veloren Forest" Leena said with a look of complete seriousness. Lily wiped her eyes and tried to contain her laughter.

"I don't know about the harpies or the griffins, but my grandmother isn't an evil old hag, she's just really antisocial. And Harold has never eaten anybody! He's actually a really picky eater."

"Who the hell is Harold?" Oscar demanded, asking the question that the other two were also clearly thinking, judging by the confused look on their faces that matched his own.

"He's Grandma Kells' pet wyvern! She found him as a baby and raised him herself." she explained as she started to laugh again at the expressions on their faces. "She brought him to visit for my birthday last year. He's really grouchy, and was even more so because he didn't like the spell she used to make him small enough to hide, but Grandma Kells says he's very well behaved otherwise."

"Okay let me get this straight." Paluk said holding his hands in front of him and taking a deep breath. "You want us to believe that your grandmother is actually the evil old woman that lives in the most dangerous forest in the country, possibly the whole world, except she's not the evil old hag that everyone has been led to believe and is actually a sweet old lady who just happens to enjoy living a live of isolation with a pet flying demon called 'Harold'."

"Named after my grandfather, yes." Lily nodded as he got his breath back and rubbed his temples. "But he doesn't fly, he only has one wing." she added as an afterthought.

"Well, okay then!" Paluk clapped his hands together loudly, "Good luck!" He shifted down into his mongoose form and went to walk off back to the woods. Leena laughed and also stood.

"Wait, where are you going?" Oscar stood and called after him alarmed by his sudden exit.

"We're gonna pop home and check everything's okay; warn them of these 'shadow beasts'. After that, who knows? Maybe we'll meet up with you two again somewhere; assuming you survive meeting 'Harold'" She also turned and shifted, and ran to catch up with her brother, shouting a quick farewell and good luck as she went. Lily shouted her own goodbye back at them and stood to stand next to Oscar.

"Okay well, Veloren Forest is about three days walk, give or take, so we're going to have to get some better clothes. I don't know about you, but I'm not too keen on heading back towards Riverton. We better start looking for signs to another village or town." Oscar picked up their bags and slung them over his shoulder and started to walk up the bank and onto the main road. Lily picked up Jacob and put him on her shoulder and walked briskly to catch up with him.


	11. Chapter Eleven

They decided that the best way to travel was to stick to the main roads. Growing up with the Fae, Oscar was taught from a young age that it was safer to keep to the woods; to hide among the foliage and find ways to use nature to his advantage. After the attack in the woods however, it seemed safer to stay out in the open. While the woods provided them cover, it was also easier for the beasts to sneak up on them. At least on an open road they would be able to see trouble coming from a mile away, even if it meant that trouble would also see them. This arrangement however, meant that Oscar was way out of his comfort zone and constantly on high alert; skittish and anxious. He looked over his shoulder every five minutes or so and every sound made him jump. Lily was sure that if he had been born Fae, he would have long ears that would be in a constant upright state, twitching round at every noise like a rabbit. Thinking about Oscar with long fluffy rabbit ears made Lily smile and giggle to herself, and the subject of her amusement turned sharply to glare at her.

"I don't know what's so funny, but this isn't exactly the best time to be messing around." he snapped, turning his attention back to their surroundings. Lily pressed her lips together, forcing back her laughter as she rolled her eyes (a habit that was becoming more and more frequent the longer she spent time with the teen.) She looked around at the road they'd been walking down for the past hour or so. The path was wide enough that two horse draw carts could travel side by side. To their right was the river, and to their left were the gradually thinning trees of the Fae forest. As she surveyed the environment another, more impish, smile appeared.

"I spy with my little eye"

"No" Oscar cut her off quickly.

"Something beginning with..."

"Absolutely not!" His frustration was growing and Lily's smile grew even wider.

"'R.'" Lily was outright smirking at him now and Oscar looked as though he was going to burst. His angry groans sounded more like growls and he was now refusing to even look her way, let alone play her childish game. She left it a minute or so before continuing. "If it's too difficult for you I can choose something else"

"I'm not playing your stupid game" he stated through gritted teeth.

"So it is too difficult. Okay then, something beginning with 'T'"

"It's not too difficult!" He protested

"What is it then mister know-it-all?" Lily pushed, pleased with herself that her plan was seemingly working.

"It's very clearly the river!" Oscars' voice was gradually rising, his eye twitching as he tried to contain his annoyance.

"Fine, then what was the other one?" Lily teased. Oscar looked to his left and gestured to the trees dramatically and Lily huffed.

"At least make it challenging, not that I wouldn't guess it right either way" he boasted. Lily leaned down to pick up Jacob, who had been walking at a steady pace beside them, and looked around again for something that might stump the older boy.

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with-"

"Hey! You there!" Oscar and Lily startled at the intruding voice and saw a farmer walking towards them; a large bag made from thick cotton in one hand, and an assortment of farming tools in the other. "You kids lost your way?"

"Yes sir" Lily answered at the same time as Oscar who had replied with a curt "No." The boy nudged her side and gave a disapproving look.

"We're just looking to stock up our supplies, maybe get some new clothes. You know where the nearest town or village is?" He asked the farmer, who set down his bag and rubbed his chin, giving the pair a thorough look over as he did.

"Nearest place is Ramsrock. It's small, but it'll have what you're lookin' for. I run the nearby farm. Follow me." With that he picked up his bag and turned back down the road, turning right at a small crossroads and not bothering to check that the pair were following.

"Do we trust this guy?" Oscar whispered to Lily as they followed slowly behind.

"Do we have much of a choice?" She whispered back. "Besides, we've survived much worse that an old farmer with a pitchfork" she said with a smile. Oscar just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Just stay alert, okay? Maybe put the cat in the bag for a bit, don't want to attract any unwanted attention." Lily nodded and gently moved Jacob into her shoulder bag, the feline protesting for a moment before giving up and curling into a ball.

It didn't take long to reach Ramsrock, and the farmer was right when he said that the village was small. As they approached the small cluster of buildings they passed an enormous boulder, the top of which curled around with a slight resemblance to the horns of a ram, clearly the village's namesake.

"You wanna be careful wandering around on your own" the farmer piped up, stopping suddenly and turning to face Oscar and Lily. "Some Halfman showed up yesterday, raging on like a lunatic. Ain't any Halfman locals round 'ere so if you see one, you stay clear. Who knows what's going on in that head of his."

"What was he saying?" Lily asked.

"He was going on and on about shadows eating people; how the darkness was coming to consume us. Saying we should gear up for a fight or evacuate. Absolute nonsense. Whoever heard of people gettin' eaten by shadows eh? Impossible." As he spoke both Oscar and Lily blanched. "He's been hanging round by the rock 'ere lately, must have gone off to bother some poor soul with more of that 'end is nigh' talk. Anyway, tailor's down on 'Old Row', just a few streets down" he said pointing towards where they needed to go. "All the stores are in the same general area but if you get lost, someone will help. There's also a little Inn on the corner of Hind Lane. I doubt Ms. Greene'll let you stay the night without coin, but I'm sure she'll let you use the facilities. You both look like you need it."

"Thank you sir" Lily said politely, her childish charm bringing a smile to the old farmers face and he patted her on the head, and Oscar on the shoulder, before leaving the two with nod and heading back out down the road, presumably towards the farm.

They watched him go and, once he was out of hearing range, Oscar turned Lily.

"We should find the Halfman he was talking about" he said, keeping his voice low. Lily nodded in agreement.

"Let's head to the tailor first though, and maybe the Inn. I really want a proper wash."

"Yeah, you need it" Oscar laughed and shoved her gently before walking off in the direction of the Tailors.

The owner of the old tailor shop was a short Dwarven women. Her long fiery hair was done up in a messy bun and her short beard was braided and decorated with an array of green and gold beads. She was visibly surprised at the sight of two new children walking through her door, but greeted then wholeheartedly nonetheless, introducing herself as 'Ms. Hezmehilda Redbane'. Lily explained their predicament to Ms. Redbane; a few details altered here and there. She told her that her parents had gone missing and that she and her cousin were looking for any information on where they might have gone. She also added that they had decided to go stay with their grandmother and were robbed on the way, which is why they needed new clothes, asking whether there were any odd jobs they could do in return for a new outfit or two. Oscar scoffed a little at this as he browsed the store, listening in on their conversation, since he could very easily just steal whatever they needed. All they had to do was wait until the store closed and Oscar could teleport in and out of the store in no time. Lily had, of course, immediately shot down his idea and had given him a lecture on why doing that was wrong. He'd agreed to go with her plan in the end because it the only way to make her stop going on at him for even considering theft.

The Dwarven tailor was very sympathetic and agreed to give them some new clothing in return for doing a few chores and deliveries that needed to be done. Oscar declared that he would be the best choice for deliveries, refusing to do any sort of cleaning, which left Lily to the chores. She dusted, swept and mopped the entire store, organized the shelves and rails that held a variety of different items of clothing and even taught the older woman the basics of crochet while they waited for Oscar to return. By the end of the day the two of them were both exhausted, but left the tailor with a new outfit each plus a few pairs of extra undergarments; their old clothing having been washed and left hanging to dry on an old clothes horse in the stores backroom. In place of her sunflower dress Lily wore a pair of simple brown cotton trousers with a white shirt, both of which were slightly too big; her the trouser legs rolled up to keep her from tripping over. Oscar had asked for a new set of leathers to replace the ones he'd lost and had even agreed to do a little extra lifting to make up for extra cost. Hezmehilda assured them that their clothes would be dried by morning and gave Lily a note to give to Ms. Greene so they'd get a discounted room for the night.

The owner of the 'Silver Cup Inn' was not what the pair had been expecting. She towered over the two of them, staring down over her nose in suspicion as they approached the desk. Lily was reminded of the blacksmith brothers back home as the looked up at the intimidating figure before them, yet this woman was clearly human. Oscar stood frozen staring at the woman. Her arms were the size of tree trunks and looked as though she could easily pick him up and tear him in two without breaking a sweat. When he made no indication of moving, Lily pulled the slip of paper from his hand and walked up to Ms. Greene, handing her the note from Ms. Redbane.

"We'd like a room for the night if possible, please." She squeaked, her confidence slowly draining away under the heavy gaze of the goliath before her. The inn keeper took the note and looked it over quickly before letting out a loud hum and looking them over again with narrowed eyes.

"Any friend of Hezzy's is welcome here" she boomed suddenly with a grin. "Can't let you stay for free though. Rooms are usually eight copper per person, per night. But since you helped out my old friend today, how about we four copper each for the night hmm?" Lily pulled out her coin purse and emptied out the remains into her hand. Seven copper pieces fell out into her palm and she bit her lip. Seeing the coins, Ms. Greene held out a giant hand and Lily dropped them into her upturned palm.

"I'm sorry" Lily stammered, visibly upset. "We're one copper short"

"Nonsense" Ms. Greene replied putting the coins into the pocket of her apron "You must not have counted properly, I'm sure I counted all eight" she winked and grabbed a key from under the desk handing it to Lily. "Room 5. Down the hall and on the right."

"Thank you so much!" Lily wanted to hug the huge woman but decided against it. Turning toward her companion she saw him approaching the desk.

"Th-thank you" he stammered quietly and bowed his head slightly, though Lily could see his cheeks were bright red, hidden under his hair. He quickly turned away from the inn keeper and headed down the hall, Lily not far behind him.

After taking turns to wash and then sitting to have something to eat from their rations, the two decided to go look for the Halfman. Happy to be once again free from Lily's bag, Jacob explored the room and eventually decided to stretch out on one of the single beds, lazily pawing at his own twitching tail. As they got ready to leave, the red cat refused to go back into the bag and so they ensured all the windows were shut tight and locked him in the room. They wondered back towards the Ram horn boulder they had passed, but he wasn't there as the Farmer had said he would be. Asking around the village, each of the locals warned that they should stay away from him and his nonsense. Eventually the sun started to set and the pair headed back to the Silver Cup. They'd decided during the day that they should sleep in shifts; one staying awake to keep guard while the other slept. After the attack on Riverton, neither wanted to be caught out again should the shadows attack in the night once more. Oscar slept first, Lily insisting that she wasn't tired and that she wanted to crochet a little first.

Taking out the small amount of leftover yarn from her bag, she sat on the bed thinking about what she might be able to make from such a small amount of material. Thinking back to the amusing image of Oscar with rabbit ears earlier that morning, she eventually decided on making a tiny purple bunny. It was very simple in design, a plump round body with long ears and a 'fluffy' pompom tail. She didn't have quite enough yarn to give it feet, but as she crocheted she imagined the tiny doll listening out for danger; its long ears turning around and twitching as it listened for anything, and for nothing. She thought about the crochet bunny rocking side to side, flapping its ears in warning as danger approached and wondered if her newest creation would awaken the next morning just like Jacob had. With a yawn, she tied off the loose ends of the yarn and expertly hid them away from sight with her yarn needle. Looking at the small bedside clock she was surprised to see it was now two in the morning and she moved over to Oscars bed to wake him. Climbing back into her own bed she placed her newest creation on the table next to her and pulled the blankets up to her chin. Disturbed by the boys movement, Jacob climbed up onto her bed from Oscars', where he had been dozing on the boys chest, and nuzzled up beside her head as she fell into a deep sleep.


	12. Chapter Twelve

When she awoke the next morning, she was alone. Confused, and only half awake, she sat up in bed and looked around the room. When her eyes shifted to the empty bed beside her own, her gaze lingered for about 5 seconds before widening and standing up with a shout. She ran to the door and flung it open, about to run out towards the front, she stopped in her tracks as Oscar rounded the corner, hands crossed over his chest and whistling an unfamiliar tune; Jacob following closely behind him, tail swishing and button eyes staring upwards. She followed his gaze and was taken back by the small crochet rabbit creature sat comfortably on the boys head; it's ears bouncing with each step.

"Oh good, you're up" Oscar said as he approached Lily, seemingly un-phased by either crochet creature nor Lily's staring. "Get ready to leave. The Halfman's by the rock and if we wanna go talk to him we need to do so before he wonders off again." He moved past Lily and back into the room, picking an apple from their supply bag and biting into it as he sit back on his bed; the small rabbit tumbling from his head down to the floor as he leaned over. Jacob rushed over and began pawing at their new companion and the rabbit retaliated by batting the cat away with its ears. Lily moved over to the pair and picked each up, one in each hand, before placing them on separate beds.

"Play nicely you two" she scolded. Grabbing her headband from her bag she went into the tiny washroom to get ready. A quick wash and an attempt to tame her wild curls later, she emerged from the washroom to see Oscar had their bags ready and was waiting by the door to leave. The rabbit now sitting on his shoulder and nuzzling into his neck; Jacob once again standing by his feet and watching intently.

"Looks like you've made a new friend" Lily said with a smile.

"Pretty sure you made a new friend actually" Oscar retorted smugly.

"Very funny"

"I thought so" he said with a smirk. Lily toed her shoes on as he opened the door, nudging the cat out the way gently with his foot as he did so, and they walked together back down to the inns reception area. No-one was manning the desk this time, so Lily left their door key by the small visitors book and wrote a short note thanking her for her kindness.

It wasn't until they left the inn that Lily realised how early it was. The sun had just started to rise tinting the morning sky a beautiful red and pink. Birds were singing loudly in the trees and along the rooftops announcing the start of a new dawn. She realised that Oscar must have been wondering the streets in the dark and asked him why he would do so.

"I was bored." He spoke as if it were the most obvious answer in the world, but it just created more questions for her.

"We were just attacked in the middle of the night, what if something else had happened?"

Oscar bristled at her question and turned round to face her and continuing to walk backwards.

"You think I can't look out for myself?"

"I'm sure you can, it's just...Why would you leave yourself out in the open like that? It's not like you"

"Excuse me!?" He scoffed and shook his head. "We've known each other for like, two days max. You don't know me at all, and I don't assume to know you either." Swiveling back to face the direction they were walking in, he crossed his arms over his chest and hunched his shoulders. "I stayed close, just checked the perimeter that's all. Besides, your cat decided to tag along so if anything had happened at least if something had attacked I could just chuck it at 'em and port out of there; no problem."

"Don't even think of it!" Lily pouted and scooped Jacob up , holding him to her chest protectively.

"I'm kidding, obviously!"

They walked in silence for a few moments, Oscar bringing a hand up to his shoulder to pet the rabbit doll that still sat there.

"Why'd you make this little guy?" He asked, trying to ease the tension and break the awkwardness between them. Lily sped up slightly so that she could walk side by side the teen.

"It's a sort of alarm system for the monsters, I hope. I wasn't really thinking of anything when I made Jacob, other than wanting a friend. So, while I crocheted the rabbit I thought really hard on how I wanted it to act." Turning towards him she lifted her arm and pointed the dolls long ears. "When there's monsters around, it'll hear them and the ears will stick right up like a real rabbit listening for trouble. Though, I suppose they'll be listening for silence instead?"

The rabbit in question turned to look at her and waved its ears around happily and she giggled.

"What did you do to make it like you so much?"

"Nothing," he huffed "just picked it up to look at it and suddenly it was wiggling in my hands. I almost threw it across the room!" His hands came up to gently cup the rabbit and he lifted it down in front of his face. "It is super cute though, shame you didn't give it any legs."

"I ran out of yarn"

"What's it's name?"

Lily's mind went blank. She hadn't even thought of naming the poor thing and she suddenly felt very guilty. This must have shown of her face as Oscar just shrugged and popped the doll back on his shoulder before suggesting a few names himself.

"Bunny?"

"No way, too childish"

"Hoppy? Sir Hopsalot? Wiggler?"

"Where are you getting these names from? And you call me a child."

" You are literally a child. How about 'Floop', cos he has floopy ears?" He flicked the nearest ear that was tickling his neck; the doll shook in protest. "Or hey, Rabbits' pretty tasty so maybe we should call him 'Dinner' or 'Stew?'" Lily paused and eyed him up cautiously.

"Stew?"

"As in: Rabbit Stew!"

"No way!" She reached for the rabbit in question but the now giggling teen lifted it even higher up out of her reach.

"I notice you didn't say anything about 'Dinner', Is that this little guys new name then?" With his free hand he kept the tiny girl away, palm against her head holding her away with ease as she waved he arms in front of her.

"No fair! That's cheating!" She gave up pretty quickly, a huge smile growing on her face as their previous tension was forgotten completely. She thought briefly that this must be how it feels to have an older brother, and a warmth bloomed within her chest.

As they continued on towards the towns namesake, they started to hear a voice calling out to the waking townspeople; Warnings of lurking shadows and hideous beasts. The closer they got the more familiar the voice became and soon, Lily could see the towering form of the Halfman they'd been warned about. Before them stood Igir, no longer the proud and confident blacksmith she'd spoken to just 2 days ago; instead she saw fear and desperation. Along his bare back was a deep wound, clearly new and burning red in contrast with his dark grey skin.

As soon as she saw him the smile fell from her face and she rushed forward calling his name.

Igir turned sharply toward her, dropping to his knees with arms open wide to catch the small, human child that barreled into his chest. He embraced her tightly, not quite believing she were really there.

"You're alive!? How did you get here? I looked for you when the monsters came but you home was empty; your kitchen broken beyond repair! I was so sure that you were gone like the others..." His voice grew quiet as he spoke and he bought a hand up to pet her hair gently before pushing her away from his chest and inspecting her any injuries. "Are you harmed, little one? How did you escape? Are your parents her as well?"

"I'm fine Igir, I'm okay!" She answered as she attempted to bat his hands away and ease his worrying. "I thought maybe my parents had gone into town, so I cut through the forest to River-"

"The forest!?" Igir's worry turned to slight anger at her words and she "Are you mad? What if a beast had attacked you? What if the Fae had taken you? Why would you wander the forest alone!?"

"I wasn't alone, I had Jacob!"

"It is but a toy, child"

"Besides, the Fae aren't like that, they're just reclusive that's all. They wouldn't harm innocent people for no reason!"

"You don't know that, there are wards and warnings there for a reason"

Behind them Oscar scoffed and Igir looked up, only now noticing the teen; Jacob now nestled securely in his arms and the new doll on his shoulder.

"You have something to say, hmm? You doubt my knowings of the Fae?" The Halfman stood up tall, keeping a hand on Lily's shoulder possessively as he did so, and looked down at the boy. If Oscar was intimidated by the display it didn't show, and he merely lifted his head high in retaliation.

"I'm pretty sure I know more about the Fae than you do, and what your saying is total cra- uh..." his eyes flicked towards the girl momentarily, "Rubbish. It's a load of rubbish. My people aren't the 'savages' everyone else thinks they are!"

"'Your people?' You don't look Fae to me, boy. Even your scent screams human."

"You'll be screaming in a minute if you don't stop running your mouth!" Oscar growled and dropped Jacob to the floor, stepping forward with fists clenched. Lily rushed towards him and out of Igir's grip.

"Oscar please, calm down! Igir's my friend. You're right, he doesn't know about the Fae like we do, but that doesn't mean you need to start fights." Positioning herself between the two hot headed males and she turned back toward the Halfman. "Oscar may be human but he was raised by the Fae. They really aren't bad people. He's been helping me find my parents, we're going to Veloren Forest. My Grandmother lives there and she might be able to help."

"Absolutely not" Igir shook his head in disbelief. "First the Fae woods and now Veloren with a stranger? I forbid it. You will stay with me and I will keep you safe. It's what you parents would prefer."

"You cannot be serious?" Oscar scoffed

"Deadly serious. I do not know you, nor do I trust you. You can leave now" Igir's words were hard and final. He glared down at the angry boy and Lily looked between them not knowing how to diffuse the situation. Oscar looked towards her and then to the crochet animals that watched on with curiosity. Taking a deep breath he looked the Halfman in the eyes.

"I've come too far to go back now. I made a promise to deliver Lily to the safety of her parents; I'm not breaking that promise, whether you like it or not."

"If you do not leave willingly, I will make you leave." Igir threatened.

"Then it looks like you're gonna have to make me, big man." Oscar held his ground, trying hard to not let any fear show.

"Stop it Oscar!" Lily pushed in front of him.

"Wha- you're taking his side?" Oscar stepped back, hurt flashing on his face briefly before anger set in once more. "You know what? Fine!" Raising his hands in mock surrender Oscar turned and started heading away from town. "Suits me perfectly!" he yelled over his shoulder as he stomped on.

"Oscar, no! Come back!" Lily tried to run after him but a large hand gripped her shoulder, holding her back.

"It is for the best, child. He cannot protect you like I can."

"Oscar, Please!" Lily cried. He ignored her, seemingly unaffected by her pleas, and vanished in a blink of an eye.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Oscar re-appeared not far from Ramsrock, but far enough to not be seen, and started walking quickly, back along the dirt road they'd travelling along the day previous. He felt conflicted. On one hand, he'd never wanted to go on this 'quest' in the first place. This was his way out; his chance to go back home to the safety of his village. Slowing to a stop, he began taking deep breaths to calm himself and brushed his hands through his hair. Something soft brushed against his neck and he yelped as the rabbit fell from his shoulder to the floor, momentarily forgotten in the argument.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" He hurriedly bent down to pick it up and brushed the dust and dirt from the wool as best he could. "Shit, what am I gonna do now?" He looked around, trying to spot a safe place to put the rabbit where Lily might find it again. Walking over to a wall he hesitated to place the toy down; It's button eyes staring up at him curiously, then back towards the town and back to him again.

"No. No way, I'm not going back. In fact, " he picked the rabbit back up and place it back on his shoulder. " You're coming with me. She can consider you payment for all the trouble she's put me through." As he began to head back down the road, soft ears prodded against his neck insistently.

"No, I mean it. I'm not going back."

The prodding started to come hard and more urgent. With a groan Oscar pulled the toy from his shoulder and held it in front his face.

"What is your problem!?" he snapped. The rabbit continued to moved its ears erratically and bobbed up and down in his palms. "Wait a minute..."

With sudden realization, he turned back towards Ramsrock as a multitude of screams and shouts erupted in the distance. Wasting no time, he focused hard on the towns namesake as he ran, feeling the familiar pull through his body, the world shifting around him as he teleported back to the towns entrance.

What had started as a quiet, calm morning had derailed into chaos. Black beasts stalked the town, chasing down terrified townsfolk as the tried desperately to find shelter. Smoke could be seen rising from the buildings a few streets down where a fire had clearly been started. Oscar was amazed at how things could change so quickly.

He was quickly drawn to the sound of a bellowing roar and metal hitting stone. Around a corner a beast flew backwards, melting away before it hit the ground. Igir then followed, his hammer aflame and swingling wildly at the monsters that dared approach him. Behind his, Lily brandished her wand with tears streaming down her face; Jacob stood in front of her proctectively as a smaller shadow crept up behind them.

"Lily, behind you!"

She looked toward Oscar in surprise, then yelped as she was thrown back by Igir as he swung the flaming hammer towards the creature, carving it in two; both pieces disintegrating in the air before they hit the ground

Oscar grabbed the rabbit and shoved in roughly into his bag before looking around for something flammable to help defend them and, after finding nothing of use of the ground, took to kicking apart a nearby wooden fence; pulling a stake from the ground he rushed towards Igir and thrust the wooden stake into the flames of the hammer, igniting his own makeshift weapon and made his way over to Lily.

"Could really use a magic cat right about now, you know!" he said over his shoulder to Lily as he started waving the flames towards a new wave of creatures that had emerged.

"That's easier said than done!" She replied as she picked Jacob up and held him in front of her face. "Come on boy, we really need you again!" The cat just cocked his head and jumped back down to stand in front of her once again, yet his small form stayed as it was. Lily let out a frightened whine and readied her wand, trying to keep calm and summon the strange lights as before. She cried out in pain as her body glowed and a beam of light shot from her wand, hitting what looked like the deformed shadow of a man in the chest. The man gave a silent roar as he disappeared and both males looked toward her with worry, turning back to their own battles after seeing her unharmed.

"You good, Lily?" the teen asked, thrusting his flaming fence pole into the face of another shadow creature.

"Ye-yes. I think so." She sounded out of breath, as though exhausted already from that one attack, though Oscar didn't blame her. He'd seen first hand how her strange powers affected her but, even though it hurt, it was the best thing they had to defeated the monsters that were now attacking them relentlessly.

"You got this kid, just focus on the task at hand." It may not have been the best encouraging thing she'd ever heard, but in that moment it was enough. Pointing her wand again she called forth beam after beam of blinding light, cutting down every shadow in her sight as soon as she saw them slide up out the ground. More screams could be heard not too far away and the three of them rushed back through the town, striking at each and every shadow within reach, yelling at the fleeing locals to find a light source and arm themselves with fire. Just as in Riverton, they saw the black beings smother their victims, covering them in the deepest black and cutting off their cries, absorbing them and adding them to their own mass. Amidst the chaos Lily saw the Inn keeper and the Tailor, both armed with flaming branches and twirling around each other in sync, fighting off a large number of inky dogs.

After what felt like hours of fighting, the horde seemed to be thinning out; yet the air felt around them heavy. After checking with any survivors, the trio their way cautiously back towards the main entrance, taking out any shadowy stragglers on their way. Lily was now struggling to walk by herself, utterly drained from her magick use and so Igir lifted her gently, cradling her gently in one arm as he held his weapon outstretched in the other; Jacob prowling alongside him.

As they reached the Ram Rock they stopped suddenly in their tracks. Waiting for them was black mass larger than the ones they'd fought so far; it shuddered and twitched before taking a familiar humanoid form. Before them stood the inky form of Ato; Igir's older, larger and stronger brother. Lily gasped in shock and Igir lowered his hammer and lowered her down slowly to the ground beside Oscar, the teen immediately wrapping a free arm around her to keep her upright. She looked up at the giant his sadness in her eyes.

"Igir, I-"

"I will hold him back." He started to walk towards the towering monstrosity, head held high and eyes never leaving the mirror form of his brother. "Take Lily and leave." Oscar looked on in disbelief.

"Are you crazy!? That thing is huge! You can't take that all by yourself!"

"That 'thing' is my brother."

"It's suicide!"

"Then so be it!" Igir roared and ran toward Ato, the shadow mirroring his actions. As the flaming hammer came down it was met with a clang. As Ato had charged forward, a large black sword had taken form to fight off the bright fire. All three looked on in shock as the monster began to push Igir back. They'd never been able to make such physical contact with them before so why now? As Igir regained his composure he pushed forward and knocked the shadow giant away before lunging again and again, trying desperately to get a hit in; his hammer blocked by the sword every time.

"Why are you still here!?" he cried "Lily cannot defend herself any longer, it is up to you now. Go!"

Oscar hesitated for a moment before picking her up and running past the battle and away from the village, Jacob following close behind, ignoring Lily's protests and pleas to go back. As they left the village he started to notice the dark clouds become sparce and patches of bright sunshine lit the floor. He found the brightest area he could and lowered Lily to the floor before teleporting back to Ramsrock. When he saw the entrance was empty he began to panic, but turned towards the nearby farms when he heard faint grunting. Igir seemed to have led the 'Ato' away from the village and while Oscar was relieved to see Igir still up fighting, it was obvious he was beginning to tire. He also noticed something strange in how Igir was moving. He seemed to be leading the shadow around in a particular pattern; dragging his feet as he moved and creating a design of sorts in the dirt. Though he didn't recognise the Sigil, something of that size had to be give powerful results. Just as Igir finishing with his drawing, he slipped; hammer dropping to the floor just out of reach. Oscar wasted no time in porting between them and grabbing the weapon, waving it in the shadows face. The beast leapt back away from the flames then swung its sword towards the boy; but before the blade could hit, Oscar was thrown hard to the side and hit the dirt rolling. Looking up he saw Igir kneeling still before his brothers shadow, still within the messy sigil, with the sword buried in his chest. Inky black blood began to creep from the wound and, with eyes glued to his brothers face, he lifted a shaky hand and murmured softly.

"I'm sorry, my brother. Forgive me." With a snap of his fingers the sigil and everything within it exploded it flames. The blast pushed Oscar back with a loud cry, flying far through the air and landing with on his side, a loud snap coming from his arm as he did. He struggled to stand, tears falling heavily from his eyes from the pain of his arm, and what he had just seen. The circle of flames was now void of anything but fire; no remains of the Halfmen sibling to be found. He stumbled over to the blacksmith's hammer that lay in the dirt, its flame now extinguished, and picked it up before making his way slowly back to Lily; tears falling freely down his cheeks.

The rest of the day went by in mostly sombre silence. When Oscar returned to Lily alone, carrying Igir's hammer, she couldn't help but fall into his arms and weep. The remaining townsfolk gathered together in the town center and discussed the tragedy they had just experienced; some deciding to pack up and leave immediately, in case the monsters returned, whilst others stated they would stay and defend their only home. A small vigil was held for the brave Halfman that had fought to the death to defend those who had shunned him, candles and flowers laid out before the Ramsrock.

Ms Greene insisted that the pair rest up at her inn and cooked up a hot meal once she saw how exhausted the small girl was. Oscar had resorted to carrying her on his back as she slept, awoken only for the vigil before losing consciousness once more. While she slept, Oscar helped around town by putting out fires and picking up fallen objects. A few merchants decided to pack up and travel up north and, not one to waste such an opportunity, asked one if they might join them, since they were heading that direction anyway. After seeing how Oscar and Lily had fought the beasts they were more than happy to have them along, knowing they'd at least have a chance should they be attacked again on the road.

The sun was beginning to set when Lily and Oscar said their farewells to Ms. Redbane and Ms. Greene. The two climbed into the back of wagon among the various different stock the merchants had packed. Lily, whilst hugging Jacob close to her chest, was quick to lean up against the teens side. He only hesitated a moment before wrapping an arm around the girl in return.

"I'm sorry" he whispered "I shouldn't have left you. I won't do it again." He looked ahead at the walls of the wagon, scared of what he might see on her face. The seconds ticked by in unbearable silence and he was sure that she'd drifted back to sleep.

"You promise?" she whispered; so quiet he almost missed it.

"I promise" he assured "and I don't make promises lightly, you can trust me on that." He fumbled in his bag with his free hand, pulling out the rabbit that had made itself comfortable in one of the inner pockets, and place it in his lap. "Go back to sleep Buttercup, Stew here will let us know if there's any trouble"

"Not calling him stew" she slurred as she her eyes closed.

"Too late" he chuckled quietly as he began to pet their newer companion, his own eyes starting to droop.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

They were awoken, rather abruptly, when their wagon tipped suddenly; not falling completely, but enough to throw the two sharply forwards crashing to the floor.

"What's going on?" Lily groaned as she pushed herself upright.

"Stay here, I'll check it out." Oscar clambered out the back of the wagon to find their driver trying to calm an anxious horse. "What's going on? Everything okay?"

"Ol' Miriam here's had a bit of fright is all. Not sure what caused it but something startled the poor gal; won't go any further down the road."

Oscar closed his eyes listened closely to his surroundings. The chattering of birds and rustle of the leaves bought a brief wave of relief, interrupted by the snap of a twig in the bushes nearby. In an instant Oscar teleported in the direction of the sound, a shocked squeak heard as he threw it's source into the road. As Oscar walked back to the road, eyes fixed on the intruder as beady eyes glared back.

"I thought you were heading home". The small mongoose huffed and held its glare. "Wheres the other one?" he asked before the identical sibling in question sauntered out of its hiding place and brushed against his leg as it passed; seemingly confident yet eyeing the older man warily as he watched this strange interaction. "Ugh fine, whatever. I don't care. Lily's in the wagon, and if she's fallen back to sleep, don't wake her!" He gestured towards the back of the wagon and made his way back over their driver as the two fae climbed into the back. "Hey, I'm -"

"Nope" the man held up a hand to cut him off. "I've seen enough weirdness lately, I don't care anymore. After shadow monsters, flaming giants and magic, disappearing boys" he nodded towards the teen "a couple seemingly sentient ferrets are nothing". Oscar snorted, fighting back a smile.

"Don't let them hear you call them that."

"Understood. You staying up here or heading back in?"

"I'd better go keep an eye on them. Thanks for helping out."

Approaching the door of the wagon he heard a quiet whimper from within. Climbing in he was met with two worried looking Fae watching over the sleeping Lily as she tossed and turned in her sleep, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Whats going on?" he asked.

"I think she's having a nightmare, we can't wake her" Leena answered as she gently stroked Lily's soft curls. Oscar moved to her side and began to nudge the girls shoulder.

"Hey Lils, its time to wake up." She whimpered once more and curled in on herself. "Lily, hey, we have guests. Come on now, wake up." He tried again to wake her, shaking her shoulder but with no luck. Tears started to fall harder down her cheeks. "Wheres Jacob?" Oscar looked around the wagon to see the small cat seated by the door watching them. "Your master needs you. Why are just sitting there?" The cats head tilted at the question, but remained where it sat. "Stupid doll" he muttered under his breath as she turned back to Lily. "Hey Paluk, there's a rabbit doll in my bag next to you, can you grab it for me?" Paluk reached a hand into the bag and pulled out the little yarn rabbit, dropping it with a yelp as it started to wriggle in his hands. Once on the floor it righted itself and started to rock back and forth, ears pointed upright.

"What the fuck is that!?" Oscar thumped him on the arm.

"Language! There's a literal child right here." He scooped up the doll and brought it to his face. "Whats going on little guy" he whispered to it. The rabbit turned towards him and bobbed and rocked even more, its ears turning it all directions. The familiar feeling of dread grew once more in the teens belly. "That's not good is it"

"What? What is it doing?" Leena asked, leaning closer to the doll.

"Both of you be quiet. Can you hear anything?" The three of them went silent, the only sounds they could hear were the occasional sobs from the sleeping girl beside them. A few seconds passed before Paluk broke the silence.

"What are we supposed to be listening for?" he whispered.

"Anything." As Oscar answered, Jacob leapt on top of Lily, pawing desperately at her face and the wagon seemed to grow darker. Inky blackness crept up the walls and the wagon came to another sudden stop and a loud neighing was heard from outside. Oscar stuffed the rabbit into his bag, throwing the strap across his shoulder as he stood and picked up Lily's. "Everybody out, now! Paluk, give me a hand!" The boys grabbed the girl as Leena threw open the wagon door and the they all rushed out, Jacob following close behind. As the made in out, the entire wagon was engulfed in black; their horse and driver nowhere to be seen as an inky figure staggered towards them.

"What is that!?" Leena screamed. Oscar turned back to the unconscious girl now held in Paluk's arms and grabbed her by both shoulders, shaking her hard.

"Lily, wake up! We need you!"

As the creature broke into a run towards them, Lily woke with a gasp. A bright light shone from her as Jacob rushed at the shadow, leaping into the air and unravelling as before. The glow from within the doll shone bright, forming the large panther they'd seen that night in Riverton. The monster didn't stand a chance as shining claws tore through it; the fight was over in seconds. Jacob stood triumphant as the shadows surrounding the wagon dissipated and, once everything seemed back to normal, shrank back down; yarn twisting and knotting back into place until he was a small, red, toy once more.

"Really!?" Oscar screeched, throwing his hands in the air. "You go all glowy for that but not back in Ramsrock!?" He dragged his hands down his face and turned towards the others. "How you doin, Lil?" he asked.

"I'm okay." Her voice was quiet and shook ever so slightly. He could tell she was trying very hard not to start cry again. Confusion then clouded her face as she suddenly realise that she was being held and looked glanced at the others.

"Hey there Sweetpea, nice of you to join us." Leena reached over and playfully waved her hand through Lily's hair as Paluk lowered her gently to the ground. 

"What are you guys doing here? I thought you were going home?" she asked as she got her balance. The twins shared a look, hesitating to answer.

"We were heading back, but -" Paluk started.

"- We snuck into Riverton." Leena finished. "The place was a wreck."

"Things were still on fire! So many buildings were burning!" her brother made wild hand motions to imitate the flames.

"We decided that you guys probably needed some back-up" Leena leaned against her brothers shoulder and grinned at Oscar who huffed back.

"Now that that's out the way, mind telling us what we just witnessed?" Paluk put both his hands on his waist and began to tap his foot impatiently.

"I recall telling you exactly what was going on the last time the two of you ambushed us." Oscar answered as he made his way towards their now horseless wagon. He started rummaging through what was left for anything they could take with them.

"That was one of the monsters we told you about" Lily picked up Jacob, petting him and kissing the top of head in thanks.

"I thought you were exaggerating! Kids make up wild stories all the time!" he flung himself dramatically at his sister who tolled her eyes but allowed him to do so.

"What are you talking about? I told you most of what happened myself!" Oscar argued.

"Exactly" the twins spoke together and grinned mischievously at him, his eyes narrowing as he glared.

"Do something useful and help me grab anything we could use. Not too much though, I don't wanna hear any whining about bags being too heavy". He threw two tattered looking bags at the twins, neither of whom attempted to catch them but instead watch as they hit the dusty floor.

"Yeah, we don't need bags. We have all we need" Paluk nudged the bags with his foot.

"No way! If you're going to travel with us, you gotta help carry stuff!" Oscar yelled, now inside the wagon. Both twins gave a heavy and exagerated sigh before picking up the bags and climbing back into the wagon to collect supplies.

There wasn't much worth taking in the end, though. The wagon was mostly full of handmade bowls and cutlery. Leena found a nice-looking cooking pot, big enough to cook meals on the road, but not so big as to be difficult to carry. Paluk found a map. They all agreed that it would probably be better to avoid towns and villages for now unless necessary. The most direct route looked to be through an area marked messily as 'Sirensong Valley'. The route had been both circled and crossed by someone (either the merchant or previous owner) and no-one in the group had heard of the place before.

"Well it does look like quickest way to go" Oscar said, though he sounded unsure. "The sooner we get to Veloren the better."

"The sooner we get eaten by a wyvern, you mean" Paluk mumbled to himself only to be elbowed in the stomach by his sister.

"He won't eat you, I swear" Lily assured.

"yeah yeah, come on then. Might as well get started." Paluk stretched and grabbed the bag he'd been assigned, stuffing the map inside and jumping out the back of the wagon. The others looked between each other and grabbed their things to follow. Paluk was waiting for them, standing straight and trying hard to make it seem like he was having no issues with the bag that now weighed him down.

"We'll walk until just before dusk, and then we'll make camp for the night. We have plenty of food for now so we don't need to gather or hunt just yet, but if we see anything edible that we can carry on the way it wont hurt to grab what we can." Oscar raised an eyebrow at this.

"Who suddenly put you in charge?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let's hear your plan then?" Paluk retorted.

"Hey!" Leena stood between the two. "We haven't even started walking yet. Paluk, your plan is good, but do not boss us around. No-one is in charge. We work together. Okay?"

The boys looked at each other, slightly taken aback, and nodded.

"Leena's in charge" they said in unison and began to walk along the dusty road. Leena sighed but shot Lily a sly smile as they began to walk together.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

The journey to Sirensong Valley was mostly uneventful. Though there was the occasional Shadow, most days were spent talking, joking, and gathering firewood before eating around a campfire. Each of the teens took shifts keeping guard at night, keeping a torch burning bright to ward off anything that might do them harm. Lily had tried to convince them to let her have her own shift, but they all agreed that she was too young; Too likely to fall asleep.

"Can you teach me" Lily asked quietly one night as Paluk sat braiding her hair; tucking tiny flowers into her curls.

"To braid? Sure. You can do mine next" He replied. Lily shook her head gently.

"Magick. Can you teach me magick?" Paluks fingers stilled for a moment before quickly finishing the braid; slender fingers twisting the hair and tying the ends with a piece of twine.

"Fae magick is not the same as Human magick. We're born with it; it's instinct to us."

"I know, but you did say to find another teacher"

"Yeah. A human teacher." He flicked her forehead gently, smirking as she giggled and pushed him away.

"I know, but please!" she folded her hands together as she begged, her eyes as wide and as sad as she could make them. "Just one lesson. If it doesn't help then I'll find someone else, I promise!"

"You are just awful you know that?" He stared back at her, face void of any emotion for a few seconds before throwing his arms up dramatically. "Fine!" Lily cheered and threw herself at him, arms wrapping tightly around his waist. "Just one lesson, and we start bright and early tomorrow, so you'd better be up and ready the moment the sun rises!"

"I will, I will!" She leapt up and ran over to her designated sleeping spot, grabbing Jacob and laying down, immediately trying to fall asleep despite the excitement now coursing through her body. Oscar looked over at the eager sleeper, then to Paluk with a knowing smile.

"What was that about?" he asked, petting the rabbit that sat content in his lap.

"Nothing at all. I don't know what you're talking about" Paluk replied, moving next to him and grabbing a strip of jerky from their bag of rations.

"So, she's just excited all of a sudden over nothing?" Oscar poked the Fae between the ribs, causing the boy to yelp and poke back.

"She's a kid. Kids get excited over nothing all the time." He said shoving the entire strip of jerky into his mouth at once and chewing loudly; mouth open and leaning towards Oscar as he did so.

"You're so gross. Sometimes I think you're the kid" he laughed as he pushed him back. Leena smiled as they continued to banter and play; using a pocketknife she had found on the wagon, she continued to sit quietly by the fire and steadily cut away curls of wood from a large branch. When she first started earlier that evening, it was just something to pass the time; but as the hours passed by, she gradually started to carve small patterns into the wood. As she whittled away, the branch started to look less like a branch and more like a staff with twisting grooves twirling up and around the end. It was not a masterwork by any means, but she liked it. It was strong; a hit from such a weapon would no doubt do some damage. A pocketknife was fine, and so were her teeth and claws, but the extra reach was nice. Besides that, it could also double as a walking stick.

Once her shift began and she was sure everyone was asleep, she started to train. Staff in hand she twirled her wrists and watched as the wood cut through the night air with a sharp whooshing sound. She began a sort of dance, twisting and turning as she imagined the creatures surrounding her and struck at each with a devastating blow. In her minds eye she saw they inky bodies explode on impact before another took its place. As she turned towards the campfire she froze in place. Sitting upright, gaze fixed towards her, was Jacob.

She hadn't really paid the cat much attention in the past. She knew it was important (at least the Elders seemed to think so) but she didn't understand why. Sure, it could move on its own and follow simple orders, but so could any magical golem. Why was this one so special? Looking now, however, she began to understand. Golems are tools; inanimate objects given the illusion of life to obey orders from their masters. They do as they're told and never ask why. They don't even have to capacity to think or question the orders given. Jacob wasn't a normal golem. There was something behind those button eyes that seemed to stare into her very being. A sentience that should not be there. Gently placing her staff on the ground, Leena stepped slowly towards him; head moving ever so slightly to follow her. Kneeling in front of him she lifted a hand towards his head, and, after a few seconds, he leaned forward to meet it.

The moment yarn met flesh Leena's mind seemed to light up. Images flashed before her eyes faster than she could process. Many scenes contained a woman with long flowing hair, wrapped in sunlight and surrounded by flowers. Occasionally there was another. Possibly a man, but they passed by too fast to really tell. Where the woman was the Sun, this other person was like starlight. The few glimpses she got of them was like looking at a night sky full of twinkling stars.

After what felt like an eternity, Jacob pulled away and Leena gasped for breath realising she'd forgotten to breathe throughout that whole encounter. She staggered backwards, falling to her backside and watching as Jacob curled back up next to Lily, her arm pulling him in close as she slept.

"What are you?" she whispered, as the world came back into focus; the crackling of the fire helping to calm her now racing heart. Scrabbling back, she grabbed her staff and held it tightly to her chest. The end of her shift could not come soon enough, and she spent the hours trying to process what she had seen in that strange vision. When the time came, she quickly woke her brother; dragging him up and away from the others as he grumbled and moaned at being pushed around while still half asleep.

“I saw something”

The moment the whisper left her mouth, Paluk was more alert and looking around for a threat.

“What was it? Where is it?”

“No, not like that” she replied, and he looked at her confused.

“Then what did you see” Paluk yawned and stretched his arms, shaking them gently to try and wake himself fully.

“I don’t know. Some sort of vision, I think. The golem-”

“Jacob?”

“Yeah. I touched it and I started seeing these things. These...images. A woman and a man, I think.”

“The kids’ parents?”

“Could be.” She started to pace back and forth bringing a hand up to her mouth, chewing absentmindedly on her fingers. Paluk gently took her hand and held it his.

“So, what happened in this vision?”

“I don’t know. It all happened so fast. It was just flashes, and I couldn’t really make out any details but, I don’t think that thing is a golem.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just think about it: If it was just some regular golem then it would just follow the kid around and do as she says.”

“Which it does, doesn’t it?”

“It thinks its an actual cat, Paluk. It wonders off to chase bugs, it plays and asks for attention. Just yesterday it was pestering you to rub its ears”

“Yeah, okay, I get your point. The thing is freaky. In an adorable kind of way”. He looked over his shoulder at the small girl sleeping soundly; the cat in question laying still in her arms.

“I’m just saying” she leant up against him, leaning her head on his shoulder. “We need to be more careful. Who knows what it really is?” Yawning, she stood upright again and pat him on the arm as she made her way towards her designated sleeping spot. “Wake me if anything else weird happens”

“Will do. Sweet dreams, Sa’naer” Paluk sat down by the firepit, feeding more wood to the flames before leaning back and looking at the cat once more. It hadn’t moved, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Maybe she had fallen asleep after all, dreamt the whole thing. The thought didn’t stay in his mind for long. He trusted his sister. If she said the cat gave her some crazy vision, then that is what happened. He'd be sure to keep a closer eye on the doll from now on. It didn’t seem to show any signs of malevolence at all. In fact, it was pretty affectionate and had saved them from a shadow that one time on the road. He was certain that whatever was going on with the strange cat, it was connected to the girl, and he was starting to regret his decision to teach her magic. If she was this powerful without even knowing it, what could she become. 

"At least they’re on our side."


End file.
